Month: January 2012

Grateful for Takeout at End of Long Day

A little more than a week into my effort to take a photo each day, and I find myself struggling. When I go to work and when I come home from work, it’s dark. I joked with a friend that I was a vampire. Nancy – bless her heart, as we say in the South – suggested I photograph the night sky one evening as I was lamenting that I had yet to take a photo.

As we talked, though, I realized I was grateful for her friendship. How do I photograph that when she wasn’t nearby? Easy. She gave me a hand painted wine glass that I’ve been using every morning for juice. Okay, I admit it, I also use it most evenings. I photographed the glass.

At the end of a long day, I'm grateful for takeout. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

My photography project is not designed to be another chore or item to check off my list. It’s part of my effort to appreciate the simple pleasure of life and to be grateful. It’s also an opportunity to practice my photography. And’s it’s also a reminder about creating balance.

My year kicked off with a series of day-long meetings at work. They’ve been informative, creative and strategic, and I’m enjoying them. The downside is that I’ve had little time for day-to-day deadlines and projects so I come in early or stay late, which leads to long days.

This photography project, though, forces me to think about what I do appreciate. One day I photographed a basket of volleyballs at the gym. I’m playing with a new team, and I’m grateful for that.

The other night, driving home, I was grateful that I have enough money to call for takeout. I’m grateful that there is a terrific Chinese restaurant near my house. I’m grateful that the restaurant is on my speed dial. All of this leads to today’s photograph of takeout boxes.

How are you doing so far in 2012 with your resolutions and goals?

Business Cards Tell a Story

I don’t know about you, but I don’t use a Rolodex any more. All of my contacts are stored in Outlook and LinkedIn.

It’s handy because the information is always with me. What’s not so handy is that I often have difficulties remembering a name or a company. But I can remember the color of the business card or the unique graphic. When I had my Rolodex, I would simply twirl it until I saw the color or the graphic and then I could locate the information I needed.

So how do you make your business card memorable? I was in a meeting this past week with Lynn Parker of Parker LePla, which according to its website provides “brand strategy that spans your organization, your communication and the web.”

Lynn Parker's business card begins as a square... (Courtesy of Parker LePla)

I won’t forget Lynn’s business card. I also won’t forget the name of her company or Lynn herself because of how she presented her business card to me.

Instead of simply handing me a card or sliding it down the table, she came over to me and before handing me her card, she began to fold the 3-3/4-inch square. By the time she was finished, it resembled a multi-colored fish, specifically a koi.

“Cards are evolving. It’s really about what you do when you hand the person your card,” Lynn said to me. As she folded the card, she told me about how her firm and what it offers. She also told me that it has a koi pond in the middle of the office.

I won’t forget that and as Lynn noted, “That’s the power of telling a story.”

... and ends as a koi.

Her firm chose the unique approach to business cards for a simple reason. ““We’re all about helping our clients have brand defining experiences,” she said, “so we wanted our card to be a brand defining experience.”

Does your business card tell a story?

 

 

365 Days, 365 Photos

I wrote on Jan. 1 about how I am going to pause and enjoy the moments of each day this year. I’m a realist, though, and know how busy my schedule can get and how quickly I might forget to enjoy a moment. So I’ve decided to try something different this year.

The Carillon

During a walk on Jan. 1, I photographed the historic Carillon in Richmond. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

Each day I’m going to take a photograph. The idea has been percolating for some time. A few years ago a good friend was battling cancer. She took her camera everywhere and took photos to remind her of happy moments. I loved the concept but didn’t think I would do it.

Recently, an author told me about Project 365. The idea is to take a photo every day. Somehow, though, I just couldn’t remember to carry my camera. I was too busy writing blogs, checking emails, catching up.

But a week of vacation at year end and taking photos every day – often of the simplest things (a pine cone on a tree outside the room) — made me realize how much I enjoyed capturing the simple pleasures of the day. I also enjoyed experimenting with my camera.

I don’t know what I’m going to do with the photos. Maybe I will make a collage. Maybe the photos will simply remain on the disk. Maybe I’ll create my own note cards. It really doesn’t matter what I do with them as long as I remember to enjoy the moments of each day and record them in a snapshot.

How do you savor life’smoments?

New Year, New Philosophy

A new year. Time for resolutions. This year I don’t think I’m going to make any specific resolutions. Instead, I’m going to focus on a philosophy – live in flip-flops. It comes from last year’s calendar, which  advocated making a choice “to live more playfully.”

(Photo by Cynthia Price)

I’ve made considerable progress the past year in some key areas. I’m owning e-mail better, although I still have a way to go. Toward year’s end, however, I had a huge epiphany and realized that I needed to stop using my inbox as a reminder box. That’s made a big difference.

I’ll continue to be selfish, making time for improving my fitness and finding quiet moments. It is okay to do nothing (or so I am told). My present to myself was to purchase 20 more personal training sessions. That will last a few months. In that time, my trainer will push me past my comfort level while making me laugh – all in the name of fitness. It’s a good way to spend an hour.

Last year was busy for me with work, my NFPW presidency, travel and volunteerism. I loved it all, but I realized toward the end of the year I was tired. A week away with no scheduled activities did the trick.

This year – 2012 – will be a great year to live in flip-flops. I’ll follow the sage advice of Henry David Thoreau, “Always maintain a kind of summer, even in the middle of winter.” I’ll remember to look up each day and see the sun. That means I can’t be in the office before sunrise or stay past sunset. I’ll wear my flip-flops even when I’m not at the beach reminding myself to slow down and not take life so seriously. Mostly, I’ll remember to pause and enjoy the moments of each day.

How will you live 2012?