Everything Happens in Starbucks
February 4, 2010
I don’t mean to eavesdrop but I love people and being engaged in life, so I can’t help myself. I tend to to listen in when I hear juicy bits of conversation, as I did this morning at my local Starbucks and boy was I glad I did!
I met two of the most wonderful ladies - women that are icons of a bygone era and role models of another way of living that we are dearly missing in this modern hectic world.
I tuned in be
cause I overheard one of them talking about trying to text on her cell phone. She was telling her friend that she needed to look in the manual to figure out how to do it.
I chuckled to myself because I could totally relate. When I bought my ‘little phone’ - aka cell phone, I had to beg a male friend of mine to meet me for coffee just so he could show me how to use it!
We are folks of another generation, one in which gadgets of this kind were not automatically attached to our ears at birth. As I turned to look at them, I chuckled and they might have thought I was laughing at them but I wasn’t. They said, “We’re not so good at this stuff.”
I told them that I hadn’t been good at ‘that stuff’ either and that we of another generation are all of a similar predicament. We come from the days before there were even answering machines. So we are all bewildered by this new technology.
We got to chatting and they were just delightful. I told them my story of being a former-technophobe (which I wrote about some months ago), until I took a course called, “Become A Blogging Maniac” with my wonderful mentor Bea Fields. That is how I advanced my business and propelled myself into the 21st century at the same time.
They were interested to know how it worked for me. I was excited to tell them that I’ve had over 5,000 visitors on my blog in under a year. I get nearly 900 visitors a month! Isn’t that amazing? And the best part is that it’s all from the comfort and enjoyment of my own home (or a local Starbucks) instead of trekking God knows where to drum up business.
They were intrigued and wanted to know more about how it works. I told them about Facebook and Twitter thinking they wouldn’t know what the heck they were, but I found out quickly that these are not your average golden-aged ladies. They are women with a great sense of adventure. One of them uses them both and so I got right on Facebook and made her my new friend! Love it.
They told me that in their era they were never encouraged to believe that they could do anything. One of them said, “We were told we would be taken care of.” Wow that really hit home.
They told me stories of ironing their napkins and polishing their silver and I felt this deep longing for the elegance and thoughtfulness of another time. Hearing their stories, I fell in love with them both instantly. They are truly gems of another day gone by.
This made me realized that I need to capture their stories. We need stories like these to remind us of the elegance of living. Right then and there I decided that I am going to film them and share their stories.
Aren’t you eager to hear what they have to say?
So stay tuned for the wonderful stories of the two beautiful ladies of another generation that I met in Starbucks!
Everything happens in Starbucks folks. If you’re willing to eavesdrop just a little, you can meet the most wonderful people. Today go have a Starbucks on me. Eavesdrop on some neighbors and see what magic might happen right in your local coffee shop.
Yours in sharing the stories that make life rich and meaningful,
Annie
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Corey’s Story Journey: Hanging a Picture Frame Around Your Life
January 22, 2010
When I started working with Annie Hart and Katie Gutierrez Painter on my book, I really had no idea where it was headed, or how it would all come together. In fact, like so many of my own clients, I often felt lost throughout this process.
Over the last eight months the three of us got together weekly and Annie pulled out my most poignant business, creative, and personal stories so that Katie could document them. But remaining objective was something I have not been able to do well. My view of my life is infinite, it has no edges, and yet, we have to put a frame around my stories to build the book. We have to give the stories context.
A short lesson on context. One thing I have learned through working with so many books is that readers, as they read, are constantly pulling information, ideas and lessons from what they are reading and are subconsciously filing them in their brain as they travel down the page. If an author fails to provide their reader with enough context, files quickly get backed up and create clutter as the brain slows down and tries to determine how to categorize them. For most readers, a single uncategorizable file can knock the reading experience off course. I call this a roadblock.
The brain starts directing extra focus towards determining how to unclog the road block. But information, like cars, is still being added to the equation. So now attention is being split between trying to unclog the road block and trying to direct new traffic to where it needs to go. One little road block can lead to a pile-up if an author is not careful. And a pile-up is a quick indication to a reader to drive in the other direction—away from what they’re reading!
Throughout the process of telling my stories, I have been waiting for the context to become apparent. I’m a strong believer in not forcing it, and so I have been patient. Then yesterday it happened. Annie and Katie and I were coming to the end of the storytelling portion of our work together and over the last couple weeks we had begun pulling out the themes we saw running through my life.
Simultaneously, I’ve been dealing with some very difficult company setbacks and trying to untangle some rough terrain. To be candid, I felt recently like I was watching my company fall down around me. From an authentic conversation around my life and the business, my picture frame popped out and into view. What a joyous moment to arrive at, and we did it together.
This weekend I plan on taking my first stab at the introduction to the book, and next week, Katie and I will begin to assemble my stories based on our new context. Phase 1 is over. Now we breath and enter phase 2.
From Annie: Corey has been a delight and a joy to work with over these months. Together we dove deep into the stories of his life and I am so happy that he’s able to go to phase 2 now. What a beautiful journey!
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Taking Your Business Global - Tips From Women Who’ve Done It (including me)
December 29, 2009
Recently I was featured in a wonderful article by the National Association of Women Business Owners on taking your business international.
Going global was a dream of my for a long time but I could never create the access that I wanted to, until I starting to blogging and using social media.
Within six months, no kidding, I had attained an international presence. I was making contacts in Spain, Italy, England, France, Australia, New Zealand and my biggest blog following was in Sweden. How cool is that? From this I’ve started to develop client relationships and new work opportunities. And who said that social media was only for children!
Here is the article, hope you enjoy it:
Taking your small business global is no easy feat. It requires lots of research, loans, connections and patience. Here are some tips from fellow women business owners who have already expanded their businesses overseas that will make your transition easier.
When it comes to taking your business global, there are three main things you must have: a support system, knowledge about yourself and networking skills. According to Annie Hart, personal coach, consultant and owner of “Stories Change the World,” taking your business overseas is tricky, but feasible. “Breaking technology barriers was probably the most difficult part,” says Annie of taking her business global.
She began by using social media as a way to communicate with potential clients and make connections. Through this, she was able to expand her business to Europe and gain clients from Sweden, France and England.
As a personal coach and consultant, Annie feels that when expanding your business globally, you need to simply be yourself. “People try too hard,” she says. “Hone in on who you are in a simple and natural way.” This will help you brand yourself and make real connections with potential clients.
As for Penny Barr, M.D. and CEO of Barr Management Consultancy, she recommends conducting an in-depth study of the market and targeting who your competitors are. This will lend valuable insight as to whom you will be working with and against. By knowing the strengths of your competitors, you are better able to reformat your business so that you stand out among the others.
Barr also recommends The Ease of Doing Business Reports by The World Bank. In this report, economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 to 183, with 1 being the easiest. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is conducive to the operation of business.
The main thing that both Annie and Penny agree upon is the importance of having a support system and networks of colleagues who will offer advice to help you through your global expansion. Penny says, “the most important lesson that I’ve learned was to ensure that I had a well-experienced, knowledgeable contact in that market for advice when needed.”
From Annie: They are a wonderful organization and if you are a women business owner you might think of joining. And if you’d like to help getting over the social media hump, feel free to contact me!
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Need A New Pen?? Get the World’s Best Pen For Only $3!
December 17, 2009
I have just gotten back into journaling and I have a super cool artistic new journal. So I am in the market for a new pen and I was wondering to myself what is the absolute best pen to write with??
Someone suggested that it is the Mont Blanc which is a $200 pen. Eeek! I don’t think so! But I found this hilarious article on how to transform an ordinary pen $3 pen into a Mont Blanc.
Transform a $3 pen into a $200 pen in just seconds.
Mont Blanc pens are the worlds finest writing pens but they make specialized refills so you must buy their $200 + pens to use their amazing ink…until now. This is the easiest adaptation to give anyone the king’s writing ink. Here’s how:
Step 1: Go out and find a Mont Blanc pen you like. Ask the salesperson to let you write with it…nice, huh? Now ask the price. When you’ve gotten over the sticker-shock, leave and go back to your good old G2. Remember what life was like before G2? The pens were cheap and the ink was like cheese. G2s were the best thing since clickable mechanical pencils. Even after we all had G2s, I still admired the uber-extravagant Mont Blanc people. Their pens were so smooth, they nearly wrote by themselves. Alas, at $200-$2000 a pen, that miraculous ink was out of the reach of the common man…..until now.
Step 2: Buy, don’t shoplift. Purchase the brand new G2 Pro and Mont Blanc Rollerball refills from your local office supply store. Cost: G2 Pro=$3, double Mont Blanc refill = $12
Step 3: Consider the Lillies. Think about your life…are you pretentious? If you are, buy a standard retractable G2, so you can see the Mont Blanc brand name through the semi-opaque handle. If you are not, congratulations, you live for function and not form.
Step 4: Dissemble the pen.
Step 5: If you don’t have a 5 year old. Make one. (this step may take awhile)
Step 6: One of these is not like the other. Laying inks side by side, notice the similarities…hmmm…notice the difference? You’re right. The Mont Blanc has about 1/8 inch of extra plastic on the end.
Step 7: I hope you spent more time noticing the similarities than the differences because we all have a lot more in common than different, even though we aren’t all pens….
Step 8: Dial 911. (Due to the violent nature of this step, we have not included a picture) Using any sharp implement (scissors, knife, axe, etc) cut the refill to be the same length as the original ink. (please use adult supervision)
Step 9: Compare again. When you are done with step 8, it should look like this.
Step 10: Here is the tough part. Now here is where it gets tricky, reassemble the pen. Now, before you do that, switch the refills so that instead of the original ink, you put the Mont Blanc refil inside the G2 pen. If it doesn’t work properly, repeat step 8.
Step 11: Save the world. Save the world by taken your original ink and recycling it at your local ink recycling center…or give it to a homeless person so they can take notes on their rantings.
Step 12: Enjoy. Enjoy the fact that you have one of the world’s finest writing instruments without the pompous shiny band names and logos on it. Way to go, common man.
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Dear Oprah: From My Blog Fan Brian!
December 7, 2009
One of the things I love most about my blog is all of the truly wonderful people that I’ve met because of it. One of my favorite fans,Brian Kevin Johnston, is real sweetheart! He writes me every so often and comments on my blog. We even spoke on the phone to get to know each other.
According to Brian, I need to be on the Oprah show and he feels that this is my year to do it. As he said to me recently, “Thank you Annie for continuing to add value to our lives. You have one year to get on OPRAH so we need to move fast.” I thought this was so adorable that I asked him to write a letter for me.
So here is Brian’s letter to get me on the Oprah show! I’m not big on publicizing myself so thank god for good fans like Brian who are doing it for me. Let me know what you think and definitely get to know Brian.
Dear Oprah, I trust you are doing great, and I personally appreciate you for your service to humanity!
I can only imagine you are surrounded by such amazing, talented, and gifted people and that it is rare for you discover a person or group that truly makes you stop in your tracks and engage?
I met a person like that this year, and I wondered if you have discovered the “story telling” power of Annie Hart?
You will see (as I have seen) the gift that Annie has been given, and I am trusting you will please find in your heart http://twitter.com/AnniesHeart to share her story and stories before you conclude your amazing show!
I personally have discovered the preeminent method for me to express my thoughts is through other teachers…. So here goes…
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” (Marianne Williamson)
Long story short… I was in attendance on webinar in which Annie was on the panel, and she told stories that literally rocked my world, so I immediately reached out to her in Social Media, and then by phone, and the rest as they say is history….
Oprah, would you please invite Annie Hart to tell her stories on your show? Until we connect, and your “people” are calling me for specifics and references on Annie, make it a great day…
Best, Brian
P.S I Love you!
Annie: Don’t you just love this! Who could wish for more in a fan? Brian I’m taking you with me on the show!
By the way this is a preview of Brian and I celebrating my appearance on Oprah. We’re gonna be whooping it up! Stay tuned folks.
Yours in stories that change the world,
Annie
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How To Create Community Using Social Media
December 3, 2009
Alright I’m the first to admit that I thought Twitter was the most ridiculous thing in the world and completely irrelevant for my business. I remember saying to my colleagues, “Don’t even tell me about it!” I wrote it off as one of those Hollywood fads that was made for those who enjoy silly snippets of conversation.
But much to my complete surprise, social media forums like Twitter and Facebook have become a central pillar of my business communications. Who knew!
What I love about Twitter and Facebook is that we can now have conversations with just about anyone in the world, about anything. Personally I don’t write those posts that tell people what I’m having for breakfast or the fact that my dog just went out and “did potty.” But those aren’t things that I talk about anyway, so why would I post them on Twitter!
Many people get put off by these kinds of conversations but what I say to you is if you don’t enjoy those kinds of conversations, then find ones that you do enjoy. Seek out what is relevant and interesting to you and then start to connect. Now how do you do that?
Well if you’re like me I get overwhelmed easily by too much data and there is no way that I want to be reading 9 million status updates a day. So I just trust that wherever I land is where I’m meant to connect, or I search out certain types of people and start to follow them. But my personal secret to fulfillment in social media is that I make all of my connections very personal, or at least as much as I can.
I’m not an anonymous type person, so why should I want thousands of people following me that I don’t care about? I wouldn’t. As much as I can, I try to connect with people individually because that alone makes me feel like I’m building community.
Personal, individual contact is the key to feeling like you’re part of something. We all want to feel connected and we need to be part of the bigger human family, so I make that my personal goal rather than just racking up the numbers.
And I’ve had great success at this. I have a wonderful following both on Twitter and Facebook but more than that, I have built connections with interesting people from all over the world.
I’ve spoken on the phone to several that I met on Twitter and in a few weeks I will be hosting a special Radio Show with two wonderful storytelling colleagues from Barcelona, Spain whom I met on Twitter. Who would have ever thought!
So can you have fun and fulfillment on social media? The answer is yes. No it’s never as good as in person contact and obviously I don’t want to be dating this way or having all of my social life online, but hey, the bigger the global family the better.
Try it today and see if you aren’t Tweeting a Happy Tune sooner than you thought and if you need any tips, feel free to contact me!
Yours in building community connections,
Annie
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Corey’s Story Journey: The Weight of Story
November 18, 2009
Annie’s Note: Corey just got back from a trip where he spent intensive time capturing a client’s story and we felt it important to Corey’s own creative process and story to tell it. So here is the story fresh and real from Corey’s own heart.
Corey: This morning on my call with Katie and Annie I spoke mostly about my recent trip with Daniel Cardwell and our work together on “A Question of Color”. I told them about my first trip to the grocery store with Dan to stock up our cabin in preparation for our five days together and how unusual it was to go shopping with someone for the first time.
The experience opened my eyes to how stories are often told between the lines. Imagine how much I learned about Dan when he reached for a dozen tins of sardines, four boxes of Nutrigrain bars, two cans of beans and three onions.
As we worked, which we did for an average of 18 hours each day, Dan would cook so I could keep my fingers working on the computer keys and it was through his cooking that I learned more about his life, about his journey.
He was a farmer and a survivor who had lived on his own on a farm from the age of 14. He knew how to throw whatever we had in the fridge together in such a way that it was tasty, nourished us, and kept our minds focused as we toured his life.
I also learned about myself this trip. About my creative process. Working 18 hours a day was difficult for me. At home I flip flop between projects every few minutes, but here I had to remain intensely focused for long stretches, both in listening to Dan’s stories and in then capturing them on the page.
Listening for long stretches taxed me emotionally; I knew that only 10% of what I was hearing was going to end up in the book, and yet I had to sift through the other 90% to find those gems. My mind clouded over numerous times and yet as soon as we came across a nugget, I would find myself invigorated, inspired and attentive again.
Because Dan’s book focuses on his search for his mother that spanned more than 25 years, in many ways we were putting together a detective story. That was his role as he traveled around the world, searching for his origins, accumulating about 24 inches worth of documents that we had to pull the greatest pieces from. Dan’s story and his struggle for survival in a world that wanted to throw him away was heartbreaking.
At the end of our trip, as we said our goodbyes at the airport, we had a “dude” moment as Annie called it on the phone this morning. We had shared this intimate journey of Dan’s life and his love for his mother and when we shook hands, we knew we had been through a special experience together.
The moment turned a bit awkward as we tried to navigate letting go of the week we had spent together. Part of me wanted to hug Dan and cry with him – to release all the pain of his story, but we settled on a fist-bump and a nod.
When I walked into the airport I became overwhelmed with emotion as it all finally hit me. His story is both beautiful and tragic, and he walks away the hero having overcome adversity beyond measure. He had the strength to not only search for 25 years but to then share that story (the good the bad and the ugly) for the sake of others. That’s a hero.
In the days since we have parted, I have dreamed of Dan and his book every night. In those dreams I always wake up started, feeling like I was searching and so close to something. That tells me we’re on the right track here and I’m excited to bring this story to the world.
Annie: Beautiful, touching, inspiring!
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News Flash: I’m A National Blogger Now!
November 14, 2009
No Skirting Around!
Good News Friends, I am now a National Blogger for the online women’s magazine, Skirt! I was introduced to this by my good friend and blogging buddy, elizabeth cassidy of Coaches on the Edge.
I am very excited to be getting my words out to a larger audience and particularly to women.
I have a host of great stories and many things to share with women regarding love, relationships and the foibles of human love on planet earth. I hope you’ll check me out on Skirt! and stay tuned for great stories.
I thought I’d share a snippet of my first post and if you want to see more, I encourage you to peruse Skirt! at www.skirt.com. It’s a wonderful forum for us modern gals.
The post was titled, “Gotta Be Bad, Gotta Be Bold, Gotta Be Wiser”
“Listen as your day unfolds, challenge what the future holds, try and keep your head up to the sky. Lovers may cause you tears, go ahead release your fears, stand up and be counted don’t be ashamed to cryto try. You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser…..love will save the day.” song, by Des’ree
In thinking about my first new post for Skirt! (I’m so excited), I wanted to represent to you what is most important in my life as a woman at this time. I just turned Fabulous 50 and I want to dare to be big, bad, bold and wise. I want to stand up and count and not be afraid to cry. And I want to dare to dance around my living room to Des’ree before I write my blog posts to you, which I just did.
I want all of us to live bigger and less afraid. I want us to love more and fear less. The men of the world need our help. They are floundering in many ways and I know for myself that I used to believe that men were the leaders. But as I’ve matured I’ve come to realize that they need our help. Women having knowing and wisdom in our bones and we need to stand up, speak out and share it.
Too often we play small. Or when we do try to be big and bold, we do it by being hardened or cynical. That is not our true way. At our core, we are loving, kind, fierce, strong and knowing. The world needs our love, our care, our sense of humor, our beautiful bodies, our sensuality, our love of chocolate and shoes.
The world needs us to stand up, shout out, dare to wear high heels (if we want to), and dance around our living rooms. Honestly I rarely wear high heels because they’re so damned uncomfortable! I like bare feet best. But as a woman, I have learned the art of wearing the high heel, which I will share more about in future stories……
Again check out Skirt! and stay tuned for my stories….
Yours in never skirting around the issues,
Annie
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Adding Excitement to Your Blog; Communicating in Person
October 28, 2009
From Annie: This is a wonderful post written by my friend Jeannette Paladino of Write, Speak, Sell. She is an expert in all forms of written communication. I love her take on making communication more personal.
I was just trolling through the blog of my friend Annie Hart and I realized how exciting her blog is. She uses video extensively and her writing is fresh and appealing.
Granted, she promotes story telling as a distinctive means of communication so it makes sense to see her in action. But, I thought, don’t people want to see me in action, too, even though I have a much more focused business blog?
That got me to thinking that we’ve all become too attuned, maybe, to communicating through IPhones, Blackberries and online. We don’t have enough personal interaction.
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve almost been run over on the sidewalks of New York City by a person looking down, totally engrossed in her PDA. And in New York it’s not easy to become oblivious to the throngs of pedestrian traffic.
But that’s what we’re doing – tuning out the personal interaction.
I was sitting in coffee shop the other day and four young women were eating at the next table. Not a word was being spoken as they all exercised their thumbs text messaging, surfing the Internet and playing games.
I honestly find this all a bit scary. As bloggers, we need to figure out ways to add the human touch to our blogs. How about doing a video introduction of your next guest blogger, even though he may be writing a blog and not doing a video or podcast? Or what about a video of yourself on your “About” page discussing your credentials, your goals, your business and your values?
Mind you, I’m somewhat like the cobbler with a hole in her shoes. I haven’t done all this yet, but I do know I need to get more of me in my blog. Annie is going to help me figure it out.
Annie: Jeannette you make a great point. The power of real life personal communication is a precious commodity that we must preserve. And yes we’ll get your blog looking great!
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Tackling Technology: Tips From A Former Technophobe
October 28, 2009
From Annie:
This week I wrote an article for my local paper in which I shared the story of my business success using blogging and social media. Wow, I would never have predicted that I would be a person to to overcome my fears of technology and go so far. But thanks to Bea Fields and her wonderful blogging course, I am more than happy to share this story.
From Bea Fields:
Less than 10 months ago, Annie Hart dug her heels in and told her friend Jeff Simpkins …”No way will I ever want to blog…I can’t do that.”
She then caved into peer pressure from Jeff (Jeff is a super salesman!) and signed up for the Become a Blogging Maniac program.
Not only has she become a a blogging maniac, she is now actually speaking to and teaching others in her local community about blogging and the use of technology as tools to reach a wider audience. And, she is being sought out by others for her storytelling expertise and is in the early stages of writing a book…wow…what a transformation!
So, Annie is now being sought out by the media for her story on being a former technophobe who is now a techno-wonder kid! Here you go…an article in the Chestnut Hill Local in Philadelphia, PA by the title of Tackling Technology: Tips from A Former Technophobe by Annie Hart. Congrats Annie!
If Annie can do this, so can you!
From Annie: My success was so surprising and unexpected and I feel committed to helping others overcome their fears of technology as well. I plan to write several more articles for my local paper and even launch an initiative to help my community work together for our collective business success. I hope my story inspires you to know what’s possible in your business. Feel free to contact me.
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