Joyful Jubilant Learning

Star Wars: Learning The Grand Narrative

It's 1977.  I'm 11 years old.  I'm at the cinema with my friends.  As far as I recall, it's the first time I've gone to the pictures as a 'grown up', without my parents.

The film is Star Wars.

The opening sequence rolls.

From that moment until now and, I suspect, until my dying day, I was enthralled.  I still get goose bumps as soon as I hear the music and I must have watched the film 2 dozen times (not to mention playing and replaying the LP of the soundtrack...)

I know Star Wars isn't an arty film.  I know some people are surprised when I name it as my favourite. (This is partly because my mind goes blank when asked my favourite anything - book, film, place, meal - just blank. It's only Star Wars that sticks.)  I've been to lots of film classes and learned about plot, structure, genre, narrative - but it's Star Wars that stays resolutely stuck in my mind (body, heart, soul).

In later years I've learned more about how and why Star Wars 'works': explanations of heroic archetypes and the nature of the hero's journey.  (You'll find it all in The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler). 

And this has helped me understand more about how story functions, and why narratives matter.

But it's never entirely explained to me why I love this film so much. 

I think it was partly my age, on the threshold of adulthood. 

Partly the new ground that Lucas broke with this film.  The loving attention to detail, the perfectly drawn characters, the explosive effects. 

Story told on a huge, heroic scale.

All of which means that every time I hear the music, see a movie clip, or settle down once again to watch the opening sequence roll...I'm lost again.

Falling into that remembered sense of possibility and adventure.  The call to action.  The invitation to set off and explore this wondrous universe.

Do you have a favourite film that's stayed with you over the years?  What have you learned about its impact? About the film, or about yourself?

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The author Joanna Young is a writing coach who lives and works in Edinburgh.

You can read more of her work at the Confident Writing blog.  This month she's writing about powerful writing; stay tuned for next month's focus on writing with purpose.

You'll also find Joanna on Twitter @joannayoung

Learning From The Power Of Voice

I learned so much from this Voice Thread experiment on 'What Difference Does Voice Make?' that I found it hard to know where to start with this round-up and review post.

I did think about selecting and writing out some of the best bits of the comments on the thread... but that would seem to defeat the point of the exercise :-)  So I'm reposting the thread here and please do click on it to listen in to what JJL authors, readers and friends have been saying about these questions:

• What difference does voice make?
• How could we use VoiceThread to support learning?
• How could we use VoiceThread to help build a digital community?
• Can voice help JJL honk?

To listen to the thread just press the 'play' button (arrow) in the centre of the screen.  RSS readers - you might need to come over here to see it!

It's not too late to join in and add your voice to the conversation.  You need to register first (e-mail and password) but then you're away.

What I'll add are my reflections on the experiment, and what I learned from it.  They're in two categories, one on the collaborative aspect, one on voice.

The Voice Experiment

I hope by this point you'll have listened to at least some of the voices on the thread.  Learning points for me are:

• The powerful sense of connection we get through voice
• How much we learn by hearing the accents, remembering where people are living or working
• The way emotions translate differently (better) - hesitation, pleasure, teasing, humour, friendliness
• A more powerful fix on the language of aloha by hearing Rosa breathe life into the words (more please!)
• The deep, deep reluctance some people feel about sharing their voice or hearing their recorded voice

This last point is one that I picked up mainly through conversations on Twitter.  I realised that many people enjoy blog writing, commenting, 140 character Tweets precisely because it is written.  The spoken voice is different.  It's more personal - feels like sharing a bigger part of ourselves.  There's less room to polish and edit.  It's more of a barrier if English is not your first language.  People have doubts about their accent, pronunciation or just plain sound of their own voice.

I don't want to downplay these issues - I felt many of them myself before I taught myself how to podcast - but I hope we can encourage people to give it a try, because voice (warts and all) does make for a powerful connection.  And one of the reasons I like Voicethread is that it does make the whole thing seem less technical, less formal, more friendly, more conversational, more likely you might just give it a go...

The Collaborative Experiment

The exchange was much richer and inter-woven than I was expecting.  Factors that (I think) helped people join in were:

• Creating an experimental thread first (I'd set up a thread for JJL authors to practice signing in and commenting)
• The nature of the technology - it's pretty easy and intuitive for people to use
• Using open questions (yes I know, always a good idea!)
• Nudging people frequently (not too much I hope...)
• Promoting the experiment on Twitter - with deep thanks to those friends from Twitter who followed me here and joined the conversation
• Experimenting within an existing community - the rich community that already exists at JJL, topped up with Twitter juice
• Time - this one is perhaps the most interesting one for me.  I deliberately left the voicethread 'open' for a couple of weeks (though it will of course remain open long after this post 'closes' it).  I'm pretty sure this was a key factor in generating such a rich conversation.  I don't think this is to do with voice as such but something to do with creating the space and the forum for conversation that is different from the rush, rush, rush of a blog - read, comment, move on - habit.

Those are my reflections on this particular experiment.  Suffice to say I am not just a VoiceThread convert but also evangelist... and I will be using it again, for sure, on my own blog and maybe here again at JJL some time too.

I'd love to hear from you with your own reflections on the experiment:

what you learned from taking part

reflections on the different comments you heard in the thread

ways that we could make it easier for people to share their voices...

And finally, a big thanks to all the JJL authors who joined in and to my exceptionally thoughtful and generous Twitter friends: @amypalko, @karenswim, @vgonyea, @despil, @NadineTouzet who took the time and trouble to join us and share their thoughts, and voices, with us at JJL

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The author Joanna Young is a writing coach who lives and works in Edinburgh.

You can read more of her work at the Confident Writing blog.

She's been experimenting with VoiceThread there too, with recent posts on 5 Ways To Trust In The Power Of Your Words and Walking Our Way Into Words

What Difference Does Voice Make?

I first discovered VoiceThread a couple of months back and I've been eagerly exploring its possibilities ever since.  (You can read more and see my first JJL thread on this rapid fire round up in January).

When we settled on digital learning as the theme for this month it seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore its potential further, adding in the dimensions of conversation and collaboration as well as the (already powerful) combination of pictures and voice.

A number of JJL authors have signed up to join in this experiment during April, but I'm hoping more of you will be tempted in once you see this post and dip into the thread.  You're certainly all very welcome.

What I've created so far is a fairly open thread that asks a number of questions and hopefully prompts some conversation and debate.

The questions I've posed are these:

• What difference does voice make?
• How could we use VoiceThread to support learning?
• How could we use VoiceThread to help build a digital community?
• Can voice help JJL honk?

But maybe more questions will emerge as we go along... or maybe you've got some of your own? 

If you have got questions, comments or ideas do please do join in the conversation.  To leave a comment you do need to register with VoiceThread, but it's free and only requires an e-mail and a password then you're away.  You can upload comments via a microphone, by phone (might be limited to the US?), via webcam, or typed if you're not able or ready to leave a voice comment.

To play the thread, just click the play button in the middle of the screen.  The thread will play through to the end, playing and highlighting comments as it goes.  If there are a few comments on the screen they'll play in turn - you can watch the progress in the little bar at the very bottom of the screen which is segmented if there's more than one comment.  A long line signifies a longer comment, short - short!  This gives you control of the number of comments you choose to play (if we end up with many).  You can also move backwards and forwards through the screens using the browser buttons at the foot of the thread.

One of the things that excites me most about this is hearing the voices of readers and authors that I 'know' online but have never and may never meet.  Hearing their voices definitely adds something different to the mix, and I'm looking forward to getting to know more of the JJL community through shared voices as this experiment rolls.

We'll be back with the results later in the month, sharing, I hope, both what we learned from the experiment, and a rich thread of jubilant voices.

UPDATE: We already have voices on the thread from Scotland, Australia, Canada... To hear them, just play the thread.  To join them, just sign in and record your comment. 

And for once, as David reminded me, we're not asking for your comments here at JJL, but over at VoiceThread.  Come and join us!

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The author Joanna Young is a writing coach who lives and works in Edinburgh.

You can read more of her work at the Confident Writing blog.

She's been experimenting with VoiceThread there too, with recent posts on 5 Ways To Trust In The Power Of Your Words and Walking Our Way Into Words (which includes two reader comments on the last slide, and got her hooked on this medium!)

99 Reasons To Read The Sufi Book Of Life

It's okay, I'm not really going to list 99 reasons.  I just couldn't resist that headline for a review of The Sufi Book Of Life by Neil Douglas-Klotz, subtitled 99 Pathways Of The Heart For the Modern Dervish.

I'm going to limit myself to nine reasons why I think this book would be loved by learners.

But even that framework's proved something of a challenge to me. 

It's partly because I've got so close to the book.  It's been my bedside companion for months now, has become so known, so familiar it's hard to find the words to introduce the book to someone coming to it for the first time.

It's partly because I haven't read the book all the way through (more on why below...)

And it's partly because what you take from this book will be hugely personal, reflecting your perspectives, experience, emotions, and where you happen to be in whatever journey you're on right now.

But of course all of those reasons are also why I'd recommend this book :-)

So why do I think this book would be enjoyed by a set of joyful, jubilant learners?

#1 You're encouraged to read the book in unconventional ways

This is full contact reading and a half.  The intro guide suggests you don't start reading from the beginning but open it at random.  Don't worry about getting the point.  Forage.  Dig and delve.  Cut it up.  (Cut it up?? A bit extreme even for us I thought.  Actually he means taking a copy of the list of pathways and cutting that up to help you select a pathway.)

[A pathway is a simple term for "a meditation on the heart qualities of the sacred", or the qualities of unity.  But don't worry too much about the terminology right now.]

This is why I haven't read the book I'm reviewing cover to cover.  (But some words are ingrained in my heart.)

#2 It speaks to those who would leap

I love the opening section of the book: Setting Out On The Journey. It comes before the first pathway in the book (in turn numbered 0.  I like this numbering system!)  Getting us ready to begin.  To take a step into the unknown.  To leap.

He talks about the ingredients we need: of courage, and heart. 

"When you are guided to this pathway of the heart, take a moment to breathe, and begin what you are about to do wholeheartedly."

You could say the book is about learning to do just that.  To do something wholeheartedly.  With the whole of your heart.

# 3 It's multi-storied

The author uses stories, poetry, teachings, meditations, explanations of the words and meaning to offer us different points of entry.  His style is full of possibility.  He doesn't tell you what to do or think, but allows you to find your own way.

# 4 You're taken beyond black and white

Given some recent conversations here I think this might appeal to many of you - although it is challenging to some of our 'conventional' patterns of thinking.  Sufism allows for both/and pathways.  Not just high self-esteem, but low self-esteem too.  Not just preparing the way but also doubling back.  Both exaltation and diminishment.

There's a place for it all, something to be learned from it all.

# 5 Each chapter is short, accessible, powerful

Each chapter covers just one pathway - an explanation of its meaning, some thoughts on what it might mean to you or why you might find yourself drawn to it.  Perhaps an extract from some teachings old or modern, some lines of a poem, or a short (very short) story.  There are no more than two pages per pathway, which encourages you to dip into it - and breathe into it.

# 6 You're encouraged to find your own learning

I'll include one of the short stories here to show you the style - and to make the learning point.  It's from the introduction:

"A man goes to a barber and says, 'I have to go for a job interview.  Can you cut all of these white hairs out of my beard?'
'Certainly,' says the barber, and proceeds to cut off the man's whole beard and wrap up the hairs.  'Now take this home.  You can sort out the white hairs for yourself'"

# 7 There are some big dreams and audacious plans

"Perhaps life is calling you right now to shape a beautiful work or composition that will serve others as well as yourself.  Visualize it, and then take definitive action, without any half-measures.  As Rumi says: 'When in doubt, start a large foolish project like Noah!'"

From Pathway 11, Carving and Forming.  (I just love that Rumi quote!)

# 8 You'll recognise many values we share here

Like the importance of friendship (Pathway 55):

"There are many things in the life of a Sufi, but the greatest is to have a tendency to friendship; this is expressed in the form of tolerance and forgiveness, in the form of service and trust"

#9 It's not an exposition on Sufism

If that's what you're looking for, you might be disappointed.  But if you're interested in some practical tools for leaning about life, about your journey through it, about yourself - well I'd encourage you to give this a whirl.

If you'd like to learn a bit more about The Sufi Book Of Life before buying the book you'll get a good feel for what's in store by visiting the associated website The Sufi Book Of Life.  The site includes a guide to reading the book, the introduction, and a sample chapter (Pathway 51: Al-Haqq, The Truth In Each Moment)

You'll also find an online oracle, with a button you can click to take you towards a pathway.  This isn't a future predictor but:

Rather it helps your own intuition to express and reflect back to you something of your state at the moment. The voice sought by the Sufi is one which, as Hazrat Inayat Khan beautifully expressed, 'constantly comes from within.' In this sense, the sayings only help reinforce one's own connection to the spirit of guidance.

I wasn't at all sure about the idea of clicking for this kind of navigation, but when I tried it I felt like I'd had an electric shock from the computer! - the pathway that came up was spot on what I needed to hear that day...

You'll see from the excerpts on the site that the book includes the Arabic names for the pathways (as well as plain English translations) and I guess that might just put some people off.  I found though that the author had done a fantastic job of making this book as accessible as possible, by using plain, soft, sweet language plus the inclusion of poems and short stories to bring the material to life.

I have written a longer review than I intended - though shorter than the 99 reasons I promised (or threatened!) in the headline. 

But still I doubt if I've captured what this book means to me, what I've learned from it, or how it might help you - to reflect, to learn, to leap with the whole of your heart.

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The reviewer Joanna Young is a writing coach who lives and works in Edinburgh.

You can read more of her work at the Confident Writing blog. This month she's looking at inspiration: writing that's inspired, that inspires you, and inspires others.  Knowing what inspires you - and what to do when it seems out of reach.  Finding inspiration in the every day. Writing with the breath of life; writing that's come from the source.

Rapid, Rapid Fire

No the headline isn't a typo, I made a conscious effort to make my learning uber-rapid this month - and what better than an experiment with a compressed form to make it so?  (Thanks to Michele Martin at the Bamboo Project Blog for the inspiration and fellow JJLers for the encouragement.)

Rapid fire 1

Writing leaps and bounds,
tempting me to try new forms,
teased by syllables.

Rapid fire 2

Less is more they say
forces you to clear your mind,
learning in haiku

Rapid fire 3

One line quotes from Al,
simple words of genius,
speak direct to me.

Rapid fire 4

Books are two way streets.
It's okay to mark them up,
Learning more that way.

Rapid 5

Die happy today.
Running through my mind all month.
Words can wake you up.

Do different formats help you to learn?  Comments, odes, sonnets or haikus welcome in response!

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The author Joanna Young is a writing coach who lives and works in Edinburgh.

You can read more of her work at the Confident Writing blog.

This month she's been focusing taking leaps and bounds with our writing - so it was inevitable there'd be some kind of spillover here!

7 Ages of Alice: Exploring A Multi-Layered Book

“Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

We are all a collection of learning stories, Rosa wrote, and the words, phrases and language of “Alice” are woven into mine. 

So when I was prompted by Angela to reflect on quotable authors and how their words help me live my best life, then by Dean to remember the books I read as a child and the lessons they taught me… well I knew I had to write about Alice.

Because this is a book that’s come with me through every stage of my life.  Here are the 7 ages that she’s seen me through so far.

I remember hearing and reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as a small child, being enchanted by the stories and captivated by Tenniel’s cartoons.  Picking out another layer of meaning as a teenager, recognising the heroine’s feelings of puzzlement as her body shifts and changes and she tries to answer that age old question:

“Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.”

Alice came back to me when I was a student of philosophy.  Most of the books we read were as dry as dust, but a more enterprising lecturer teased our minds with Carroll’s reflections on theories of language.  Here's a sentence I’m still grappling with today:-)

"'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less.'"

I returned to Alice when I started out as a blogger.  I often found myself thinking of her surprise when she landed  with a bump at the bottom of the rabbit hole, wondering how on earth she got there (ever felt like that when you’ve arrived somewhere new?) but determined to explore, to investigate, to learn something from her adventure.

It was Alice who inspired the invitation on my (now archived) life coaching site:

"Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the dance?"

Leading to lots of fascinating conversations about the metaphor of the invitation, what it means to dance, and what happens when we hear the music…

There are lots of writing lessons in Alice that I want to go back in and explore.  Some are delightfully back to front - "Speak in French when you can't think of English for a thing" - (are those the ones that make the strongest impression?) and some perfectly to the point.

"'Begin at the beginning,' the King said, very gravely, 'and go on till  you come to the end: then stop.'"

But  the book models as well as teaches a fantastic writing style: the simplest of sentence structures, vivid stories, plain language that anyone can grasp.  The plain language is of course mixed in with nonsense and that (I think) is what helps to create the multi-layered meaning, stories and messages that work on different levels – affecting different people in different ways, and the same person at different times of their life. 

It’s open enough to allow us to find the lesson we need to draw at any given time.

The book was something of a life saver to me when I was going through the hardest of times in my previous employment – burning out, trying to make sense of the frantic (purposeless) activity around about me, heart sick of the management rhetoric telling us what we “should” do, language that bore no relation to the reality of life within that particular part of wonderland.

What helped me through was the realisation – through Alice – that I’d been taking other people’s words, their language – at face value, rather than observing the detail of their actions.  A switch to focusing on what they did rather than what they said that helped me to see the comedy in the games played without purpose, the riddles we could never be expected to solve, the frantic breathless activity which ended, like the Caucus-race, when someone arbitrarily decided that the race was over.

It helped me to realise, and accept, the kind of world that I was in.

"'But I don't want to go among mad people,' said Alice.  'Oh, you can't help that,' said the cat.  'We're all mad here.''"

It helped me to see what was going on as some kind of mad game with no rules.  It made it seem less serious, more farcical – and gave me back a sense of power.

"'Who cares for you?’ said Alice (she had grown to her full size by this time). ‘You’re nothing but a pack of cards!'"

And of course she does stand up and throw off the cards in the end – and so did I…

Several years later I went on a course on NLP and storytelling.  Printed in the back of a manual was a multi-layered story.  I read the words with a jolt of recognition and astonishment, a wave of tears and a powerful expression of gratitude that I had now slain my particular monster.

It was Jabberwocky, a perfect example of nonsense, meaning both nothing and everything at the same time:

"One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

'And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy."

I want to learn more about how this works.  The role of nonsense in expressing and guiding us through times of change, through dark times when meaning gets lost, through times when we regain our power. 

It’s a learning  challenge I need to save for another day (when I have a little more time) but I know with total confidence that Alice will stay close by on my bookshelf, and that I will return to wonderland at future stages in my life, when I need to gather different meaning, and learn new lessons.

How about you?  Are there books like Alice that have different levels of meaning for you?  That have taught you different lessons at different stages of your life?

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This article is a contribution to our February theme at Joyful Jubilant Learning:  What do we learn from books?

The author Joanna Young is a writing coach who lives and works in Edinburgh.

You can read more of her work at the Confident Writing blog. This month she's focusing there on taking leaps and bounds with our writing - join her there if you're ready for a slide into wonderland!

Photo credit: Estherase

New threads of learning

I guess most of you know by now that I love words and writing.  But that's not the whole of my 'thing', my purpose, which is about coaching and inspiring others to realize the power of their words.

And that means I'm constantly looking for - and experimenting with - ways that I can connect with people that aren't just based on the 'conventional' written word.  My five bits of learning this month are a mixture of things I've learned, things I'm still working out, and things I definitely want to keep in my bag for the year ahead.

Podcasting - I've been doing a regular podcast for the last few months.  It's 5 writing tips in less than 5 minutes, once a week.  I've learned that my mind likes the creative challenge of finding a topic or a frame for the week (last week's was inspired by the haggis!) but I still need to learn how to make more of the time and effort that I put into these, and how to promote them through the podcasting world (is there an equivalent of the blogosphere - the podosphere?).  Any tips and suggestions on how to do this gratefully received...

Pictures - thanks to Steve Sherlock for telling us about a fantastic site for finding flickr images with a Creative Commons licence.  Have a look at the site, type in a word - something you're writing about maybe - and see what comes up.  How could you use that image to give your words greater impact?

Twitter - it's still words, but not writing in the formal or conventional sense... 140 characters at a time, sometimes disconnected and disjointed, sometimes rapid fire, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, sometimes providing just the link, the thought, the idea that you need to spark some learning.  There are some other JJLers there I know and I'm interested in the possibilities... how do you think we could use it to help build this community or stimulate our own learning?

Talking - nothing like the spoken word of course, and I've been enjoying talking to a few more blogging friends by phone and Skype this month.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed I'll be able to meet some JJLers in person in Chicago in May, and I know that will take my learning to the next level again.

VoiceThread - I discovered VoiceThread via a 'tweet' from a Scottish blogger I've just 'met' and co-incidentally, on the same day, a post by Michele Martin at the Bamboo Project blog (she was also looking at the limitations of traditional reading and writing). 

I'm enclosing a first introductory voice thread from me, plus a link to a video from VoiceThread that tells you how it works.  I'm really looking forward to learning and discovering more.  Are any of you using it already? 

What I like about it that is that it blends visual and auditory - much more likely to hold my attention than a podcast or voice recording on its own, and it's interactive, with the opportunity to add different messages and voices, so the picture becomes the base for a multi-layered story...

I haven't quite worked out how the commenting thing works yet - but if you're a member (or are willing to sign up... ) the idea is you can leave a voice recorded or typed message.  Can you see ways that we could use this to develop JJL collaborative projects...?

Thanks Ariane for the prompt to share my learning, and to all of you, as always, for inspiring and encouraging me to be a joyful jubilant learner.

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This article is part Rapid Fire Learning and part contribution to our January theme at Joyful Jubilant Learning:  Packing our bags for 2008

The author Joanna Young is a writing coach who lives and works in Edinburgh.

You can read more of her work at the Confident Writing blog. This month she's focusing there on writing with impact.

The words that I’ll take on my journey

Journeys, real and metaphorical, inspire words and writing.  And I don’t know about you but words and writing are always given space in my backpack, whatever journey I’m on, real or metaphorical.

I’m carrying three sets of words with me right now.

These words from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, by my bed so I read them when I wake up.

Look. This is your world! You can't not look. There is no other world. This is your world; it is your feast. You inherited this; you inherited these eyeballs; you inherited this world of color. Look at the greatness of the whole thing. Look! Don't hesitate-look!

It’s a reminder to wake up.

Then there's a book that I discovered in the autumn, following a recommendation from Adam Kayce, The Monk at Work.  It’s called The Sufi Book of Life, by Neil Douglas-Klotz. 

I’d struggle to find the words to tell you about this book – described on the back cover as “part meditation book, part oracle and part collection of Sufi lore, poetry and stories…”

What I love about it is that you can just dip into the book, open it up and read what it’s got to say.  You’re bound to find something that strikes a chord, that resonates with where you are and what you (already know you) need right now.

This is what it says about setting out on the journey:

“The reason we exist – and the reason to begin any journey – is to bring out our full humanity, the unique flavor that we alone can offer to the universe’s still-cooking stew”

It reminds me of what I already know – but need to remember.

And in my office, the fragment of a poem.  It’s from Entirely, by Louis MacNeice. 

It speaks for itself:

"And if the world were black or white entirely
And all the charts were plain
Instead of a mad weir of tigerish waters
A prism of delight and pain
We might be surer where we wished to go
Or again we might be merely
Bored but in brute reality there is no
Road that is right entirely."

It reminds me that there is no path that is right entirely.

Except perhaps for jubilation way.

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This article is a contribution to our January theme at Joyful Jubilant Learning:  Packing our bags for 2008

The author Joanna Young is a writing coach who lives and works in Edinburgh.

You can read more of her work at the Confident Writing blog. This month she's focusing there on writing with impact.

Learning from comments: packing my bags with 'p's

I learn a lot from Joyful Jubilant Learning.  I learned first from dipping in and out, getting a feel for the ideas that were being exchanged.  I learn from reading the ideas, the stories, the practical suggestions from the phenomenal set of contributors we've got here.  And I learn a lot from writing at JJL myself. 

But that's not where I learn the most.  No, the most powerful learning happens under the surface of the posts, in those comment box conversations where our words click and ideas connect, where human stories come together, where our learning comes to life. 

It's what Rosa calls "the collaborative, 'power of we' stuff".

I got treated to a wonderful example of this in my last post here, writing about my Christmas wish-list.  I'd come up with 11 items that would help me stretch and learn in 2008:

Patience, perspective, perseverance, possibility, potential, practicalities, persuasiveness, power, passion, present, and playfulness.

And then wondered out loud if this community of learners could help me make it up to 20...

I wasn't disappointed.  Here's what I got:

A set of powerful additions from Greg Balanko-Dickson

Persistence: very similar to your pick, my favorite is perseverance. I like "persistence" because I like the definition of being "firm or obstinate" in the face of difficulty or opposition after taking action.

It is easy to model, copy, and mimic others and quite frankly, tired, worn out, and old. To be truly unique requires a steadfast commitment to a set of ideals, standards, and principles.

Principles: this is something I keep coming back to with my clients and my own life - "What are the principles that I am applying to the direction, decisions, and development of my business and self?"

In a world where fear, consumption, and war drives the economy and our personal lives - we need principles. Principles that we are willing to take a stand for and defend.

Pleasantness: is exhibiting pleasantness old fashioned? I like to think that the world will be a better place if we practice a little "excessive enjoyment and happiness".

People: In our throw away society we need to throw away throwing away. I think of Patch Adams who put people first and as a Doctor chose to treat the whole person.

Peace: of all the things we chase in society, peace seems the most elusive, perhaps because as consumers we have lost our way by supplanting our spiritual and personal needs with "stuff" and shopping activities.

Reinforcement from Karen Wallace, and a stunning metaphor to carry us into the New Year:-)

To me, the two most powerful (ha!) items on your list are Possibility and Passion. I like to hold a space for possibility, where the future lies before us like a glorious fruit, ripe, luscious and gorgeous - just waiting for us to take our first bite and savour the experience with all our senses. To have the mango juice dripping down our chin and know we are really living.

Rosa added to my list of Ps with:

"Partnership; one of my goals currently is to improve the ways I can collaborate with others, for my natural tendency is to do for myself. Learning factors into this at first, but there are several ways I can be letting go better.

The Hawaiian P I would add is for Pono, the value of rightness and balance (and it WILL be added soon - Pono will be my value of the month on Managing with Aloha Coaching for January!"

(I don't actually believe that Rosa needs a goal on partnership, but am looking forward to learning how she sets about it with her usual gusto!)

Steve Sherlock took my learning set up to 20 with two most interesting additions:

Presence - the beginning of effort starts with the recognition and action of the self. Knowing oneself and how our actions, words, deeds, and yes, even lack of action creates our presence is the key for ultimate success.

Provincial - not in the negative sense of being restricted to a view point, but in the positive sense of knowing and utilizing the basic source of what the self can bring to the table. What is our real expertise? Building upon what comes natural should be less work.

I've never heard provincial used in this way before and although it's a little hard (for me) to shake off the negative associations with the word I'm intrigued by the idea of knowing and making use of what we can bring to the table.  What is our real expertise?  What a great question.

The bags that I pack for 2008 will be all the more value-packed for the contribution of these ideas, perspectives, fresh thoughts and shared learning.  It's why I'm so pleased we can now follow the comments at JJL in a feed.  It won't stop me clicking in, commenting and sharing.  But it will make it easier for me, and you, to grow and learn from the 21st "P" in my list.

The Power of We.

All I want for Christmas are things that start with "p"

I'm at a time in my life when I want to pass things on.  I think psychologists refer to it as generativity.  All I know is that I'm driven by a strong desire to transmit, to give, to pass things on. 

I struggle to think of things that I want to receive, things that I desire 'just for me'.  I don't know if this a good or a bad thing.  I know I get heart sick of the consumerism which eats away at our society and causes so much damage to the planet.  At the same time I read about abundant mindsets and scarcity thinking and wonder, sometimes, if there's something 'behind' my undesiring frame of mind - but that doesn't get as far as changing the way that I feel.  I just don't have a wish list of stuff that I want.

Except - there are some things that I might ask for.  Things that I know will help me to do the things that I want to do, to coach the people that I want to coach, to write the things that I want to write, to make the impact that I want to make, to give the things that I want to give. 

I started jotting some of them down last night.  I had to smile at the way my mind works.  The first two just happened to start with "p" so I kept going to see what else would appear.  It turned into quite a neat list, all starting with "p" and a pretty fair statement of what would be on my learning wish list. 

And then I figured that it would be a good idea to share this list with you here, because I know this is a place full of people who can help me find these qualities, crack these puzzles, unlearn the things that hold me back, learn what I need to learn, discover the resources within me that will help me give what I want to give, to be who I want to be.

You might recognise some of my "p" list yourselves.  Perhaps you've got more you could add?  Mine includes:

Patience: developing a brand and a business takes time, which takes patience (daily doses, please)

Perspective: likewise I often feel the need to juggle perspectives, big picture and everyday detail, immediate priorities and long term objectives.  When I get stuck it's often because I'm looking at things from the wrong perspective for that task

Perseverance: learning to coach myself as well as others to keep taking the steps that will eventually get you up the mountain...

Possibility: holding onto a sense of what's possible - for me, for those I work with, for the world that we live in.

Potential: I see it (encourage it, nurture it) in others - I wonder if I need to do more to nurture, to fulfil my own?

Practicalities: I love getting to grips with new technology and new applications (and I never would have imagined myself saying that) but there's still so much I want to learn, not least the next step of creating a create a membership or subscription based teaching/learning environment on the web

Persuasiveness: Maybe this sounds funny coming from a writing coach but I know I can take my writing further - for greater impact, power and persuasion.

Power: I talk about people realising the power of their own words.  I need to realise mine too.  To learn how to toot, sweetly - and not to be afraid of where that takes me.

Passion: It goes hand in hand with impact, power and persuasion.    I see the fire-power in others, but I'm sometimes too hesitant or cautious to breathe it fully myself.

Present: No, not a present*, but learning to live more fully in the present.  Letting go of the past, the what ifs and the might have beens, and relishing what I have right here, right now.

* Well I wouldn't be a wordsmith without a little play on words now would I?  Oh, there's another one, Playfulness...

...but just as I like lists that start with one letter, I also like them to have a set number, like 5, 7, 10, or 12. 

But not 11. 

Unless you can help me get it up to 20?

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Joanna Young is a writing coach based in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

She coaches people to write with confidence, to realize the power of their own words.  And whenever possible she tries to take her own medicine.

You can read more of Joanna's work at her Confident Writing blog.