{"id":7708,"date":"2016-01-29T22:40:13","date_gmt":"2016-01-30T03:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=7708"},"modified":"2016-01-30T07:37:05","modified_gmt":"2016-01-30T12:37:05","slug":"5-friday-faves-a-podcast-communication-helps-a-business-startup-a-song-and-a-poem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=7708","title":{"rendered":"5 Friday Faves – a Podcast, Communication Helps, a Business Startup, a Song, and a Poem"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday! Winter storm Jonas is behind us here in Richmond, Virginia. It leaves in its wake a heightened gratefulness for heat and electricity, and for those who serve their neighbors by clearing streets and sidewalks. Kids finally went back to school, and work returned to normal. I’m looking forward to getting out tonight to the movies with\u00a0Dave and our youngest. Finally I will see Star Wars – the Force Awakens<\/a>\u00a0which inspired our guitarist middle to\u00a0do an arrangement of\u00a0Rey’s Theme<\/a>. Before\u00a0proceeding to devour\u00a0an obscene amount of movie popcorn, here are my 5 faves for this week.<\/p>\n

1) Podcast<\/strong> – My favorite podcast this week was Srini Rao<\/a>‘s interview\u00a0with Chris Bailey. Rao is the host and founder of Unmistakable Creative where you can hear lots fascinating stories\u00a0from people who are unmistakably creative (good stuff). Chris Bailey is the author of The Productivity Experiment: Accomplishing More By Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0I loved both Chris Bailey podcasts – Earlier, Living an Insanely Productive Life with Chris Bailey<\/a>\u00a0and this week’s Bridging the Gaps in Our Productivity with Chris Bailey<\/a>. Bailey makes a critical distinction between just getting a lot of stuff done and real accomplishments. I appreciate that. Check out\u00a0Chris Bailey’s blog A Life of Productivity<\/a>\u00a0where he lists 100 time, energy, and\u00a0attention hacks (shortcuts) to help us reach higher productivity. Out of this 100, three of my favorites are: Every day,<\/em> journal one great experience you had<\/span><\/a>. At the start of every day, define three outcomes<\/span><\/a> you want to accomplish (not to-dos; actual outcomes).\u00a0When you meet with someone in person, shut off your phone completely.\"Blog<\/a><\/em>Photo Credit: Unmistakable Creative<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0Communication<\/strong> – Brad Hambrick is my go-to counselor guy when I need wisdom or direction in a difficult or complicated relationship. Truth is, I’ve never met him. He is the pastor of counseling at Summit Church<\/a>, in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.\u00a0 What makes his counsel so easily accessible is that he posts videos online on a wide variety of subjects. His notes for deeper study are also available free of charge via an email to his office. His website bills him as a Counselor\u00a0for the Church<\/em> (Summit Church and anyone else who\u00a0could use\u00a0his help). Today, I want to point you to Brad’s favorite posts<\/a> on communication. So helpful. \"Blog<\/a>Photo Credit: Summit RDU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/a>3) Business<\/strong> Startup<\/strong> –\u00a0 I love wood – the smell of it, the look of it. All of it. Wood is timeless. A recent and happy\u00a0discovery is Wellborn + Wright<\/a> (a local company founded by Sam Sikes which sells reclaimed wood). Read how they describe themselves (from their website: “Wellborn + Wright is committed to providing timeless high-quality finished products. Our wood is reclaimed from all over the east coast from turn-of-the-century barns in western Pennsylvania all the way to textile mills in Boston. This salvaged wood is saved from landfills and given new life by our skilled team of craftsmen. We utilize sustainable and detail-oriented processing techniques, ensuring that all of our products maintain their character. We work directly with architects, interior designers, and builders. This unique ability allows us to deliver your vision of a consistent aesthetic in both the design and in the integrity of the architectural elements in your project.” Visit their website and you will find a visual feast of old wood brought back to life. My plan is to write more about this young company after a visit\u00a0there soon. Wonder what I can have made by these craftsmen…makes me smile to think about it.\"BLog<\/a>Photo Credit: Richmondbizsense.com<\/a><\/p>\n

4) A Song – <\/strong>Kenny G’s Over the Rainbow<\/em><\/strong> from the album – Classics in the Key of G\u00a0<\/a> – Once upon a time, many years ago, before moving our family to Cairo, Egypt, my husband decided he needed to scale back on his passion for music.\u00a0We were downsizing in preparation for\u00a0that move overseas. Dave had a huge music collection and decided that he would leave behind most of his music to focus on being with people more, instead of having his head in his music. Fast forward a few years, living now in Cairo, Egypt. On a shopping trip (for my birthday), he discovered this Kenny G CD at a local market. He bought this one and another by The Temptations. The song\u00a0“Over the\u00a0Rainbow” re-kindled his love for music\u00a0and his music collection\u00a0would grow\u00a0again. It turned out to be a very good thing because of what a joy and\u00a0stress-reliever music\u00a0is for him. I had forgotten that story until the song came up on a playlist a few days ago, and he reminded me, “That song got me listening to music again.” It is beautiful.<\/p>\n