Month: April 2012

Celebrate National Library Week

How do you read? Perhaps, I should be asking whether you still read.

It’s an interesting question and one I wanted to pose given that this week is National Library Week. One of my favorite authors, Ellen Crosby, posted a survey on her Facebook page asking people how they read. The choices were – they buy the book, they read on an e-reader or they go to the library. The winner was real books that are owned, followed by library books.

Of course, this was a small survey and is not scientific, but I started thinking about how I consume books. I’ve moved a lot in my adult years so I’ve always tried to keep my collection of books manageable. Despite that, if I moved today I would easily fill 15 to 20 boxes with books – and those are only my favorites that I’ve kept. And then there are all the business and leadership books that I have at work.

To cut down on books, though, I’ve become a huge fan of my library. I can walk to it and pick up a few books. I also volunteer with the Friends group of my library. We hold two books sales each year. This is great because I can buy books, read them and then contribute to the sale. I also coordinate our Writer Wednesday series where authors come in and speak about their books. Topics have included mysteries, remodeling, history and anything else that will interest our patrons. The wonderful part is that the topic almost doesn’t matter because readers love to meet authors.

Books and more books

E-readers, library books and purchased books -- I read them all! (Photo by Cynthia Price)

I also have succumbed to the e-reader. Last fall I traveled to Indonesia, which is a 30+-hour journey. I needed some variety in my reading choices and not much weight in the suitcase. So I bought a Nook. I love it for traveling and enjoy reading on it. I have some friends who even have abandoned a physical book for their e-readers. Apparently, we’re not alone. A Pew Research Center survey showed that one in five American adults read an electronic book in the last year.

For me, though, at the end of the day, I still want to hold a book, preferably new, so I can sniff the ink on the page and hear the sound of the pages crinkling and the spine slightly cracking as I open it to explore.

Would you take the time to share how you consume books by posting a comment this week as part of National Library Week?

Cash Mob Strikes Wichita

NFPW member Jill Miller is known for great ideas and providing businesses with what they need to thrive.

Jill Milller organized a Cash Mob in Wichita, KS.

She took that to the next level when she organized Wichita’s participation in international cash mob day. Cash Mobs are similar to Flash Mobs, but instead of dancing people go to predetermined businesses on a specific day and spend a little money to help support locally owned businesses.

Wichita joined 200 other cities around the world participating in the first International Cash Mob Day on March 24. Jill was inspired by stories she read about how small businesses were being impacted by Cash Mobs in other cities. “One night I asked my Facebook friends if they thought the Cash Mob would go over in Wichita,” she said. “The response was enthusiastic!”

At midnight she started a Facebook group and within 36 hours, more than 1,500 people were ready to go shopping at stores that were selected because they had been open less than one year, sell products for men and women, give back to the community and agreed to be mobbed.

Jill was tired of seeing local businesses “that were awesome” go out of business. After talking with a client about it, she was more encouraged to spearhead the effort. “I just had to go for it and do it,” she said.

She leveraged her social media network. “That really helped me pull it off,” Jill said.

Cash mobs were started by Buffalo, NY, blogger and engineer Chris Smith in 2011 to bring financial relief to small, struggling local businesses and to bring communities together. That is exactly what happened in Wichita March 24. “I found that people want to support local businesses but they aren’t sure what they should do,” Jill said. “And there is a lot of pent up demand to go out and buy stuff.”

That’s a good thing because Jill already is planning the next Cash Mob for April 21.

Making Lemonade

Lemons

A morning wait led to a day of lemonade.

Yesterday I showed up at a TV studio to tape a segment. I was told to arrive at 8:30 a.m. and did so only to find out I would not be interviewed until closer to 10. At first I was highly annoyed thinking about the work that was piled on my desk and my inbox that had mentioned to explode in the past week.

Then I decided to see it as an opportunity to enjoy the time and chat with the other individuals who also would be on the show.

There is a saying that says, “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” That’s what I did. Here’s what happened:

1)      I caught an interview on the CBS Morning Show with my friend and author Adriana Trigiani. I would never have caught that if I were at work. Even better, she was talking about the tours she offers and I just happen to be taking one later this year.

2)      A few moments after sitting down, another woman walked into the room. She was coordinating an interview for her workplace. We were colleagues from another time so it was great to catch up.

3)      I also met Mrs. Virginia, Brandi Pope. She has a great story and is using her Mrs. Virginia title to help tell it. (That’s another blog.)

4)      Also in the room was novelist Rita Mae Brown. I’m a big fan of her mysteries and learned she has a new one out, The Big Cat Nap. Although we all had plenty of questions for her, she managed to do most of the interviewing!

By the time I had returned to the office, I’d had a good interview, made some new contacts, caught up with old friends and even developed some blogs.

That’s a lot of lemonade!

Crossing the Finish Line

We had just crossed mile marker 5 when my training partner Louise said, “You know, it’s not about what you did yesterday or do today, it’s about what you’re going to do in the future.”

With 1.2 miles to go I had to laugh, but realized she was right. We had set a goal of getting together for regular walks to prepare ourselves for the Monument 10K. Race day was here and we were doing it.

10K finish line

The finish line! (Photo by Cynthia Price)

Now that we had reached our goal, what next? As we continued to walk, we discussed our next options. My trainer would have quickly pointed out that if I was able to talk so easily, I wasn’t working hard enough. And he would be correct.

So Louise and I are going to start training for the 8K in November. My personal goal will be to run it, which means stepping up my fitness routine – something that will make my trainer happy. It also will mean improved fitness for me and more energy. Louise and I will continue our walks and short jogs and our good conversation. We’ve mapped out the next month to be sure we remain committed.

Louise and I succeeded in completing the 10K because we followed simple, but effective steps.

  1. We identified our big picture goal – to complete the 10K.
  2. We broke that goal into small targets that included identifying when and where we would walk.
  3. We started working toward the goal. We took our first steps on Jan. 1. It was a great way to kick off the new year.

What do you want to achieve?