Joyful Jubilant Learning

Learning from the Blog Action Day story

I’d been wondering how much we could learn in just one day – last Monday, the 15th October.  Blog Action Day.

Now with over 23,000 blog posts written there was clearly a lot of learning going on – and just a bit more than I could hope to digest.  But I did try and get round as many blogsites as I could (divided it by 1,000 – seemed to work!) – because I’m interested in how we talk, share and learn about this issue, and because I wanted to come back here and share some of what I’d learned.

As people started to write their posts I found…

We’re still finding our way to tell this story with confidence

Many people wrote that they weren’t sure if they should or could write – who were they to contribute to this debate?  Some felt the need to make it clear they weren’t active campaigners – environmentalists, tree huggers – just citizen bloggers, expressing an opinion, a feeling or an idea.  Some wrote that they feared a reaction, a loss in readership, by joining in this debate.  And some experienced the direct effect.

That made me feel a little saddened and frustrated at the way the bigger story is going.  Because the environment isn’t an issue that should belong to any one person or group or point of view.  It’s the air that we breathe and the land that we stand on.  It’s part of all of us. 

But fortunately…

We’re finding different ways to tell it

We don’t just use words.  We use pictures, poems, sherkus, humour, cartoons, personal histories to humanise dull subjects, month long campaigns, photographs of our own amazing corner of this planet we call home.

The environment is a pretty big concept. We all find our own way of linking it back to our own experience, our work, our passion, the things that concern us the most. 

Which means…

We tell stories about people and places that inspire us

We tell stories about the source of our inspiration: about business leaders who are learning to make a big difference, about places that develop our emotional intelligence, about places that make us feel grateful, about wild places that fire up our hearts, about what we can see outside our kitchen window, or the feeling of peace and stillness we get by sitting quietly in our own backyard

And I reckon those places help to fire us up because…

We talk a lot about ways we can make a difference

We highlight practical action we can take: cutting back on showers, reducing our consumption of bottled water, saving ink and paper, recycling the materials we use at home, publishing with care for the environment, greening our business, tidying up our local environment, protecting our national parks, lining up our management and leadership values with a commitment to environmental stewardship

But for me what’s more interesting than the lists of practical action is the change – the shift in state or perspective – that the people who wrote them are trying to create.  Because the other thing I remembered is that…

We tell stories to create different states

It lies at the heart of storytelling: we tell stories to evoke a change in state in the person who’s listening.

So we told stories about the importance of curiosity, of mindfulness, of trusting your intuition, of personal environmental action, of gratitude, of breathing your values into your work and your business, of stopping and being still, of developing a sense of place, and over and over again - of the belief that you can make a difference

And I guess those shifts in state, in perception, in awareness, might well be the learning from that one day that turns out to make the biggest difference

So what did I learn, after all, in just one day? 

Plenty, was the best answer I got.  Plenty

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Blog Action Day took place on 15th October. Joanna Young was learning from JJL contributors and readers plus writers and learners around the blogosphere. 

You can check out the 23 blogs she was following, or if you’re keen to learn more, delve into the 23,000 plus who contributed to the debate.

A writer's words, an editor's eye: Blog Action Day, publishing and the environment

Ample Aliveness: A day for gratitude

Brain Based Biz: Ram Shrivastava, CEO, walks the talk of sustainability

Chris Garrett:  Noticing the world around us and Blog Action Day lost me subscribers

Coaching Wizardry: On mindfulness, the sun and the environment

Confident Writing: 20 ways to cut your words and help to save the planet

Dave Rothacker: What's your design? a sense of place

Emoms at Home: 10 green business tips to help prevent Global Warming

Entrpremusings: Rock, paper, scissors - how do we all win?

Freelance Switch: Freelance freedom - blog action day special

Levite Chronicles: Blog Action Day in the Backyard

Liz Strauss at Successful Blog: Personal environmental action

Make it Great: Blog Action Day

Managing with Aloha Coaching:  Blog Action Day 2007 - Responsibility for your sense of place and The Environment and Managing with Aloha

My 3 boys and I: Blog Action Day

Monk at Work: Blog Action Day - leave that which makes you doubt

Ramblings from a glass half full: My passion for parks - a Blog Action Day rewind

Steve's 2 Cents: Blog Action day - environment

Student Linc: Blog Action Day

Success from the Nest: 5 reasons why home based entrepreneurship is the ultimate eco-friendly gig

The Clearing Space: Gratitude in pictures

The Giving Hands: month long campaign on the environment

Word Sell Inc: Our children need sustainable packaging

Generous Coaching for us in eBooks, and Learning By Example

Two of our JJL authors are offering new eBooks on their own sites, absolutely free!

Karen Wallace has launched a new online magazine called The Calm Space, “a virtual magazine that’s like a day-spa for your senses!” and she writes...

In celebration of our first issue of The Calm Space, I am thrilled to be able to offer you a once-only chance to get a copy of my book, How to find the Pause Button for your life… with my compliments!

This book offers you six lessons on reducing the stress, and reconnecting with what makes you happy.

Visit The Calm Space and look for the Pause Button link to download your complimentary copy today.

[Or you can click on the image to the right for the direct route to the download page.]

At Confident Writing, Joanna Young has been presenting a monthly theme in her work shared with us as a writing coach. She turned her September discussion on authentic writing into a 14-page e-book: It's called The Courage to Hear Yourself Sing: 5 takes on authentic writing.

Joanna writes,

This is my first attempt at writing in this medium so I'd be grateful - as ever - for any comments and feedback.  If it's a format that works - who knows?  You might just see me doing some more in the future :-)

We hope so Joanna!

Like you, our contributing authors are lifelong learners, and while we are grateful to both Karen and Joanna for sharing these e-books with us, we are most proud of the example they set as learners who take risks, trying new things in immediate application of their learning. They have taken that additional, very crucial step, where learnING becomes learnED. They have taken a Leap!

Thank you Karen and Joanna, and Ho‘omaika‘i ana ~ congratulations on your work, both beautifully done expressions of your Ho‘ohana.
~ Rosa Say for Joyful Jubilant Learning

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Read more about the learning journeys Karen and Joanna take, by clicking to their author indexes here on JJL:

• Karen Wallace
• Joanna Young

What I Learned From Writing Online: It DOES make a difference

Preface: This is an entry for Robert Hzurek’s September writing project, hosted by Middle Zone Musings. I have showcased Robert’s monthly efforts here before, and will likely continue to do so, for he has our magic, magnetic word in them – learning!

There seems to be a kind of convergence brewing in our blogging communities: Here at JJL we have focused our September Forum on Making A Difference. Over on Great Circle, Pete Aldin and company are going to War. Many bloggers are gearing up for Blog Action Day on October 15th. Then last week, this came from Robert Hzurek: Don’t Just Sit There, Change Something!

“So, your challenge, should you decide to accept it, is to a) make a change (big or small, no matter - as long it gets you out of a comfort zone), then b) write about your experience (sure, maybe you just started, but so what?) So, just tell me about what you did, why you did it, and what happened; you know, that sort of thing.”

What does it all mean?

This convergence I refer to seems to be a restlessness, a need for all this reading and writing we do to mean something – a difference, a call for change, for real and tangible action as opposed to just gathering ideas, writing posts or essays about them, and then … nothing beyond yet another round of essays for another month ... another theme ... another march of days spent writing about more ideas unfulfilled.

Well, this is what I have learned: Stuff does happen offline, and in the “real world” because of triggers that were written online, catapulting someone to action. Real stuff, meaningful to someone. Just because you don’t always hear back about it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

You have to write for the possibility.

When you write something online, whether in a guest posting, or within a comment, bravely willing to share, and give voice to your ideas, stuff happens.

How do I know? Two ways;

Liz has a Learning Plan- Do you?

I LOVE this post by Liz Strauss at Successful Blog.

Rise up to her challenge.

I am re-posting it here to celebrate every single word in it. Here is the link to Liz's place to give her the well-deserved credit due: On and On to Learn.

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I have a Plan

    

We learn every day. Big and small things that happen are enough to change us. Each bit of knowledge we helps us frame our world view. That’s an exciting and profound reality of being alive.

Yet most of that learning is passive, a form of response. It comes to us. We don’t seek it out. We might miss it completely as it sits waiting, if we don’t STOP to take notice. When we do, we often need to give it some thought to make what we’ve learned useful, to translate it into a thought that makes sense.

Learning is fundamental to growing.

Growing is fundamental to life.

Learning with intentionality, actually setting out with a purpose to learn, is the quest of a beginner’s mind. It stretches our thoughts, moves our hearts, and transcends our current existence. Walking into a sunrise with a thought of learning changes who we are by the time we walk out of the sunset that same day.

If I don’t plan my learning, it seems I keep learning the same things . . .

over and over, on and on . . .

on and on until I open my head and heart to learn.

If I don’t plan to learn, how can I grow deep enough to do my part?

What will you make it a point to learn today?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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If you’re ready to change the world, send me your thoughts in a guest post. Feel free to take the gorgeous Change the World image up there that Sandy designed back to your blog. Or help yourself to this one.

  .

Email me about what you’re doing or what we might do. Let’s change the world one bit at a time together. Together it can’t take forever.

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Related posts: Log your learning with us here at JJL in Rapid Fire Learning.

Post author Rosa Say believes we can all change the world with learning as our way to backpack the journey. Learn more about her lesson plans at Managing with Aloha and at Talking Story.

Holistic Learning: A Free Resource from Scott H. Young

Recently I came across a very interesting free ebook by Scott H. Young, all about holistic learning. I really didn't know much about this topic, so I was very interested to read what Scott had to say about this.

"People who learn effortlessly, ace their exams without studying and easily understand concepts don’t just learn better – they learn differently. In this free e-book, I detail the process of how smart people think and how you can replicate those results yourself."

Very interesting. Reading through this nice 27 page, fully illustrated ebook, I learned a lot more about holistic learning, as well as HOW to be a more holistic learner. For the cost of only your time, there's a lot to learn from Scott's ebook. It took me about 30 or so minutes, but your mileage may vary. I will go back and re-read this one, and may even print it out. It's that good!

Download your copy of Holistic Learning today!

More from Scott H. Young

• Phil Gerbyshak's interview with Scott
• Habitual Mastery Series
• Energy Management
• Goals! Program

[Phil Gerbyshak is the author of 10 Ways to Make It Great!, and can be found changing the world most days over at Make It Great! Phil is one of the original contributors to JJLN, and a listing of the articles he's written can be found here.]

Maximum Impact - A Blogging Manifesto

According to a WSJ article by Jason Fry in March, 2006, while the blogosphere is doubling in size every 5.5 months, less than half those blogs are still getting posts three months after their creation.

That's because blogging takes work. Blogging takes time. It's not for everyone.

From the WSJ article, it appears the very act of blogging is initiation enough to see who sticks with it and who moves on to something else. If you're a blog reader, thanks for stopping by. If you're a blog writer, this manifesto is my succinct challenge for you to keep at it.

Maximum impact occurs when a blog becomes a "positive" force on the web. Every blog starts out small. Most blogs stay small. But those that reach maximum impact stay engaged, stay focused, and reach a point over time where they escalate very quickly in readers and recognition.

The internet is littered with "one post" wonders. Don't let that happen to you. Let the manifesto begin!

1) Write about the kinds of things you want to read about.
The best blogs are created from the heart. If you have no passion in your message, you will bore your readers. Bored readers don't stick around very long. Writing a blog that you wouldn't read is like collecting recipes for food dishes that you'd never eat.

2) Be real enough to recognize.
When you write authentically, you find your own voice. Over time your voice becomes unique from the other voices. The blogs that have dramatically increased their readers are easily recognizable even when there is no name attached.

3) Be brave.
Writing with passion and authenticity takes courage. You are putting your ideas, thoughts, feelings, and perspectives out there for all the world (you hope!) to see. Have the audacity to have your own opinion.

4) Go with what you know because you never know.
Starting a blog is like writing notes to yourself. You have no idea who is going to read it let alone come back for more. You check your stats, hone your writing, develop your skills. You never know which post will attract the most hits. You never know how long it will take to build a strong reader base. So you keep writing because your next post is always your best post. It could be the one that gets 5000 diggs...you never know.

5) Give it away.
It's the Google way: create really cool things that people can use for free. It's the Seth Godin way: create an ebook that you can download for nothing. It's the Tom Peters way: here's my power point presentations, my treat. It's the Web 2.0 way: give away as much as you can and people are happy to pay you for your very best stuff.

Manifesto over...let the work begin.

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Tim Milburn finds that giving things away is a whole lot easier then storing them in his garage. He dedicates his blogging hours to resourcing student leaders through studentlinc - a site dedicated to equipping the next generation of student leaders who are poised to change the face of our campuses and culture.

Learning From a Glass Half-Full

Since I started blogging I’ve been asked about how I developed my “Half-Full” view of the world and the related concept of “realistic optimism”.  While I intend to some day soon post a more definitive explanation on my blog, I thought the forum of JJL would be a perfect place to write about how learning has been a critical element to my “Half-Fullism”, and how it may also be able to work for you in cultivating positivity.

When I was growing up my family was always grounded in realism, in that my parents never pushed unachievable expectations upon us. But yet, there was always great encouragement to work with the potential we had within us. It was a great set up for me, because it gave me a mind set that I had to be more proactive than reactive to forge my way ahead.

This proactivity extended to learning.   I recall picking up newspapers and encyclopedias at the age of four, and also watching the evening news with Walter Cronkite instead of cartoons (oh yes, I watched cartoons too – especially on Saturday mornings). I became intently interested in the world beyond my immediate neighborhood.   This culminated in the late 60’s when I became nearly obsessed with the US space program and the race to put a man on the moon.

In July of 1969 I could recite nearly every aspect of the Apollo 11 Mission to my parents, and when Neil Armstrong said those famous words when he took his first step on the moon, it was though I was taking a “giant leap” too. My pattern had been set – if I was to keep going ahead and thus keep a positive perspective, I had to keep learning and exploring.

While I had to be reminded of this a few times in the years following by valuable mentors (my experience with Brother George is a good example), the link between learning and “realistic optimism” was always there, and in looking back it’s now very easy to trace when I was in my happiest, most contented state – when the learning spigot was wide open.

Now I look at the acts of picking up a book, or searching the internet, engaging in enlightening conversation, or any other form of learning, as acts of “proactive positivity”. Further, I’ve found that the reverse action, or sharing my learning with others, has the exact same effect.

So how do you keep the Glass Half-Full?   Never stop learning and sharing your learning. And join us at Joyful Jubilant Learning!

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Terry Starbucker is an operations executive for a service company who lives in Connecticut, loves business trips to the Rocky Mountain west,  and posts his musings and observations about "the optimistic side of the daily grind" in Ramblings from a Glass Half Full.