preview Brian McLaren’s new book for a good cause
First to the blogosphere — stay tuned to jenlemen.com, where Jen Lemen will be eBaying a galley proof copy of Brian McLaren’s forthcoming new book, The Last Word And the Word After That, the concluding episode in the NKOC trilogy! All proceeds go to support Burundi hunger efforts.
[update 3/3/05] Jen’s opened the auction! Read the background story, or go directly to the eBay listing, bidding ends on Mar-12-05 17:32:45 PST. It’s already up to $63.00!
2 shy
My Bloglines reader tells me I have 498 feeds, 2 shy of 500. Hearing Robert Scoble on a podcast say that he was subscribed to 1400 feeds, and I’d imagine he’s broken 1500 by now, I don’t feel so bad for reading & skimming so many. Granted, I’m behind on my RSS blog reading and intel’ gathering, partly due to a recent web server crash, and also an overloaded lifestyle. I’m starting to incorporate smarter “keywords” and “watch list” technologies to scour the web for certain things outside of my RSS subscriber list.
For this website, after I rollover every web page to my current template, I’m contemplating a switch to WordPress. Will make good use of a b2evolution to WordPress migration tool someone put together. If Rudy can switch over in 10 minutes, I’m up for it.
And, they’ve finally announced the date and location for GodBlogCon 2005: it’ll be at Biola University near Los Angeles, October 13-15. The pundit called it.
life is unfair
Life is unfair, we all have to deal with it. Most get inherited advantages (or disadvantages) via genetics or finances. The Economist captured an incisive analysis of meritocracy in America: Ever higher society, ever harder to ascend. While on paper we have no caste system, the informal social strata and ethnic enclaves persist for generations. Nothing short of a revolution can change it all. But, revolutions are bloody.
A small percentage break through and get on the upward mobility track. That’s the stereotypical American dream: born into a poor family, and seizes the opportunity to break free and rises in net worth and status. It’s also the stereotypical immigrant story, my family’s story — that my parents came to the United States 30 years ago with three young boys, I was 8 at the time, to have the possiblity of a better life and opportunity for us. And, Keith Ferrazzi is one of those stories.
Master networker Keith Ferrazzi (or one of his staff) stopped by my blog and commented on my July 2004 entry titled “amateur networker“, to tell me about his new book Never Eat Alone : And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time. Kudos for how quickly they’ve gotten onto the blogosphere.
From its official website at www.nevereatalone.com, I read an excerpt, and it appears to be a compelling read. (Also found Chapter 1 online.) You might even say it’s the 21st century’s version of Dale Carnegie’s How to Make Friends and Influence People. You might imagine that seminars, conferences, and consultations will soon follow.
Being an amateur network myself, I’ve already got an immediate affinity for the subject. My personal hurdle is probably my resistance to monetize my network. And that is the difference between an amateur and a professional. One is unpaid, one is paid.
[update 3/05/05] They’ve released some more excerpts of the Keith Ferrazzi book at 800CEOREAD.com, wi th tips like Learn the Power of Nonverbal Cues, Develop Conversational Currency, Adjust Your Johari Window, and Learn to Listen.
Zoundry
Got word of a new software under development, and now open for beta testing; it’s called Zoundry, an offline blogging software that works with Blogger, MovableType, and Typepad. This is your invitation to go try it out!
You can use Zoundry Blog Writer for offline blog entry creation, but its real power is how it makes it easier to embed links and images to products you can sell as an amazon.com affiliate and such. For those of you into making a little cash from your blog.
The software is free to use, and the cost for this added convenience is a percentage of referrals. Or you can give the entire commission to a charity. Keep up with what they’re up to at the Zoundry Blog.
limits of leadership
Taking an online course, Dynamics of Leadership. Great deal b/c I’m auditing as a DTS alum — no homework, streaming videos of Howard Hendricks in action, plus transcripts of the lectures. Better than sitting in class to take notes! It’s a course I’ve heard great reputation about, and it’s taken the past decade for me to realize the cost of leadership and what it takes. Way more than what I’ve got in me, I’ll say.
It’s been sobering as of late, as I heard of a news item about someone I know. But I’m refraining from commenting on it b/c of the raw gossipy nature of media, news, and personal failures and allegations. Veiled reference to protect the innocent until proven guilty. It’s yet another item for prayer, as well as the brokenness of humanity, the limits of leadership.
So much of that leadership talk is of the pump-it-up motivational variety, limitless bounds on dreaming big, getting the troops to conquer the world and more. Blindingly optimistic. That stuff motivates the masses, but not me. And yet it is a part of a leader’s job to motivate. But my question is: who picks up the pieces? The track record of leaders across the board is not pretty. I’ll quote from Howard Hendricks:
“The Bible mentions approximately 1,000 leaders. Only 100 of them do you have enough data in order to get the full picture. This is what I want you to remember. Are you ready for this? Of the 100 leaders about whom we have sufficient data, only one third of them finished well. And most of them failed in the last half of their life. It is a very profound study.” (excerpt from CL205 Unit 02B )
