From our newsletter Outside the Lines

In North America it’s summer and things have slowed down: lovely!

I’m on vacation, so I’m not doing things (such as writing a regular newsletter article) and I am doing things - four of which are mentioned below.

1. Connect…

I’ve rolled up my sleeves and I’m playing in the world of Social Networking.

I’m twittering on Twitter - a way of mini-blogging to keep folks who are interested up to date with what you’re doing. You can find me under my “handle” boxofcrayons.

I’m also on Facebook - and welcoming friends. Feel free to send me an invite.

And of course LinkedIn and Plaxo.

==> Who do you want to connect with? (Apart from me, of course!). How will you do that?

2. … and Escape

I’m reading some great fiction and nonfiction right now. I can highly recommend…

David Wroblewski’s, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Like Hamlet meets 101 Dalmatians - but much much MUCH better than that. Stephen King calls it “a novel about the human heart, and the mysteries that live there, understood but impossible to articulate.”

Smith Magazine (ed), Not Quite What I Was Planning. A collection of people’s life stories - in just six words. My current favourite: “Suburban girl tries to make bad.”

Bill Bryson’s, A Walk in the Woods. Bryson’s very funny tale of walking the Appalachian Trail. I was inspired to pick the book up after my recent hike in Newfoundland on The Appalachian Trail. Click on the picture to reveal tuckamore and me. (tuckamore - forest too thick to walk between, and really hard to crawl over or under.)

Peter Block’s, Community. A call and an approach to us all to get involved with our community, whether that’s at work or your neighbourhood.

==> How do you escape? How could you escape sometime in the next 48 hours?

3. Be an Expert…

I’m already a pretty good facilitator of groups, and I’m seeking to expand and refine that expertise. I spent a wonderful week training with Michael Grinder on non-verbal facilitation and I’m currently reading Peter Brook’s, The Empty Space, a book about deadly, holy, rough and immediate theatre (and about how we use space).

==> What are you an expert at? How can you refine that expertise?

4. … and a Beginner

==> I’m watching a TED video a day. It’s no more than 20 minutes per video, and so far I’ve been learning (amongst other things) about biomimicry ,what’s wrong with what we eat, the next 5,000 days of the web and about our priorities for saving the world.

==> What would you like to start? Give a go for the first time?

The blog question

I’m already noodling about vacations in 2009. I say: book ‘em early and fight to hold the space!

What would make a great vacation for you? Let me know your thoughts in the Comments section.

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Find Your Great Work

One of the best things about the Find Your Great Work book is not in the book at all.

It’s the series of interviews I’m doing with cool and wise and funky people about their take on Great Work. They are from business and beyond.

So far I’ve talked to David Allen (Getting Things Done); Steven Pressfield (The War of Art); Ron Dembo (CEO of ZeroFootprint.com) … and I’ve got a bunch already “in the can” and a whole lot more yet to come.

Curious?

They’ll be available for download soon - and all you need to do is register here.

The bonus is that you’ll also get notification of pre-publication offers for the book when it’s launched.