Tag Archives: can do culture

Moving from My Story to Our Story…. A BIG Step

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Stories not only teach us how to act – they inspire us to act. Stories communicate our values through the language of the heart, our emotions. And it is what we feel – our hopes, our cares, our obligations – not simply what we know that can inspire us with the courage to act.  Marshall Ganz

cover.finalLast year, when I wrote The Can Do Chronicles, I was attempting to find my voice, to tell my story out loud and in the open. I was such a reluctant author! I told my story of personal transformation during a prolonged time of challenge and adversity, hoping that someone, somewhere might maybe, possibly get some inspiration from it. The whole experience felt awkward, like I was walking in high heels on a slippery sidewalk, and one false step would either totally humiliate me or cripple me for life – or maybe both.

I got the story out there. Whew! Met that goal. Ticked that box! Then in the months that followed, I realized I want to do more with it – with this Can Do “thing” that had become the center and focus of my life.

I want to share more than just my story. I want to spread my Can Do world view and its life-giving message.

I want to shift from telling my story to leading to shape “our story.”  Sure, shutterstock_945275my background in counseling, nonprofit leadership, training and writing comes together and positions me very well. But O.M.G., it’s taking a big leap of faith and courage for me to get out there!

But, I need to do it, so I am! I don’t want to keep it to myself because I believe CAN DO is too important!  

Why? In today’s world, where there is so much division, blaming, negativity and drama, I am totally convinced that a Can Do attitude and world view makes a fundamental difference in peoples’ personal lives, families, neighborhoods, workplaces and communities. I feel called and compelled to GET THE WORD OUT THERE about the promise and potential of Can Do.

So, for the last few months, I have been busy creating, writing, discussing and developing numerous strategies, venues and channels to GET CAN DO OUT THERE!  I am very excited and, I have to admit, more than a little scared about pushing, marketing and being OUT THERE. The age old anxiety questions pop up: What if you don’t like me or my message?  Or don’t agree with me?  What if I mess something up?  shutterstock_70290889Well, questions or not, I have put my “Big Girl Shoes” on, and back out there onto the slippery sidewalk I go!  I know it will not all go perfectly, but I am giving it my best shot with the resources I have today. I trust the voice inside me which has guided the creation and growth of Can Do for almost five years. And, I gotta say, I am pretty darned proud of myself for doing that!

So how and where is it all GETTING OUT THERE, you ask?  Here are a few good places for everyone to start:

  1. The Seven Secrets of a Can Do Life FREE virtual workshop series launches on January 2nd
  2. You can read The Can Do Chronicles with this early bird special savings of 15% – it’s the quiet launch!  To take advantage of this special offer, click here and when you check out, enter discount code 5K243YTD. The Chronicles is still available in Kindle format on amazon.com, but without the updating and refreshing I did for the paperback.
  3. The Can Do Dialogues, my new series of podcasts with inspiring guests sharing their Can Do stories, launched on December 2nd. The newest post is a great, fast-paced conversation with my friend, colleague and fellow cancer survivor and writer, Judy Leaver. Check back regularly to hear new, inspiring stories.
  4. I am writing my second book, the Can Do Workplace, and I just learned last week that it was accepted to be published by Motivational Press later this year. WOW!
  5. I have restructured Coridan Consulting to provide writing, training and interim thumbnailexecutive services that help nonprofits and small businesses navigate change & growth with excellence so they can make a Can Do kind of difference.

I am grateful that I have the combination of leadership experience and the gift of words – written and spoken – that allow me to share my story and begin to tell “our story” of the promise and potential of Can Do.

BUT

I cannot do this alone! My BIG 2015 goal is to use the phenomenal potential and opportunities afforded by the internet and virtual technology to create an online Can Do Community that spans and touches all part of the globe. Check back, I will be posting much more about it in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, I hope you will check out other posts on the Can Do Blog, take advantage of the early bird discount code to buy your copy of The Can Do Chronicles, listen to the the new post on the Can Do Dialogues and sign up for the The Seven Secrets of a Can Do Life FREE virtual workshop series…. And, imagine what our world will be like when we all make a little bit of a Can Do difference every day.

With heartfelt thanks –

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The Best Part of Being an Author – So Far!

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Juvenile-Alice-in-Wonderland-White-rabbit1This whole experience of “being an author” has been a bit surreal.  When I was in 6th grade, I was Alice in the play put on at the local library in Cleveland Heights. The last two weeks have been a bit of a reprise of the Alice role.

It is so easy for me to “market and promote” the blazes out of kids’ programs and worthy causes related to children and families in need. It is a “whole ‘nuther” experience to market and promote this book where my personal story and my candid perceptions of the world form the core of its message. It does not come easy… and I am just learning the ins and the outs, making it feel even more awkward. As someone who is an introvert, not surprisingly I have had several “walking around naked” dreams in the last two weeks.

I asked friends and colleagues from across the years, in person and through Facebook, to post a review after they read the book. In the amazon.com world, those reviews prime the pump and help drive traffic to the book’s page.  Once someone is there, the reviews give shoppers some enticement (or not, depending on the review!) to purchase the book.

coverThe reviews so far have been Triple A: Amazing – Affirming – Awesome. There are 14 reviews on The Can Do Chronicles amazon.com page as I write this blog, and they are the best part, so far, about being an author. These readers’ words motivate me to push past my anxieties and find new ways to share the message of CAN DO with the wider world.

What I love about this book is that it is not only a testament to Cathi’s courage through some of life’s toughest battles (i.e. job loss, leukemia,…), it is a amazing narrative on how God is faithful and works out things in a perfect, intricate, undetectable design. Cathi (and all of us) “can do” because God does the major prep for us. I also enjoy how she is unafraid to peer deeply into her own experiences and apply the wisdom gained to the next step in her journey. 

Everyone can benefit from reading the Chronicles. It’s both inspiring and motivating.

Represents a provocation in its simplicity to pause before reacting. The author could have gone for a series of cliches, but avoids this and, therefore, her product is eminently more readable.

I would give this a five star rating for its clarity. Cathy has touched on so many questions that I have wrestled with for most of my adult life. She offers a direct path to significant growth that is uphill and most inviting. I look forward to to reading her blog, but most of all to keep this little treasure nearby as companion and guide.

“Can Do Chronicles” follows the author’s personal journey through very difficult times and how by utilizing a rather simple series of actionable questions, she uncovers a unique and effective way to bring balance and peace back into your life, no matter how great the obstacles.

Tonight is the night that, at least temporarily, the government was re-opened for business. Going forward, we all need as much CAN DO as we can get to move our little corner of the world forward with Hope + Gratitude, believing that it will make a difference.

I commit to doing my part by keeping the CAN DO messaging and marketing moving forward, in spite of the anxiety dreams and competing priorities.

REMEMBER:

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Nonprofits’ Need for CAN DO at All-Time High

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shutterstock_62827624The great recession has dealt a double blow to the nonprofit sector. Funding has become much more competitive at the same time that the demand for services has surged. Non-profit leaders, both Board members and executive staff, are challenged to cut costs without cutting corners, often feeling trapped by what feels like fewer and fewer good options.

The staff feel trapped, too. Money gets tighter and stress goes up. For many staff who work because of their dedication to the mission and the clients, this has meant minimal, if any, pay increases and/or having hours cut. Staff and clients are forced to use and reuse supplies and outdated equipment and technology; and important services, such as transportation and meals are too often eliminated. Outcome measures drive success, but many staff lack the training needed to track the data in effective ways. Morale suffers and staff turnover is high.

Keeping a positive, CAN DO culture with so much stress on the organization is difficult – shutterstock_87804784but far from impossible. By combining and communicating the Three Questions with the CAN DO Core Beliefs, staff at all levels feel included and more empowered.  The Three Questions create an organic framework to keep the communication going across departments to help with planning on an ongoing basis; course corrections are less difficult because there is a Plan B already defined. What some see as problems, with some brainstorming and hard work, can become opportunities.  It’s not easy – but neither is feeling stuck!

In The Can Do Chronicles, I outline my 10 Core Beliefs of CAN DO. The 7th Belief is the one that I believe helps teams function during stress: CAN DO works to stay positive, proactive and responsible in all areas of the organization. This means:

1) collect and connect the dots, always looking farther, harder deeper;connect dots

2) no blaming, whining or name calling; and, 

3) ask the hard questions when looking at what is wrong, what needs to be change, and then looking hardest for what is right.

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I have learned some of these lessons from remarkable CAN DO leaders that have led nonprofits to success during the hardest imaginable times. MANY of these lessons I have definitely learned “The Hard Way!”  Some of them multiple times!

One of my goals for the CAN DO Blog is to help you and others avoid having to learn lessons “The Hard Way” too.  

Are these ideas helpful?  Leave a comment and let me know!