It is also a part of my online portfolio. And therein lies some more areas which will need decisions in the next little while. For instance I have a personal Facebook page (who doesn’t) and I have done a good job of adding professional and personal posts but I don’t have a solely business page. Up to now my reasoning was having a coaching company and online magazine leaves little time to dedicate to a vibrant business page however Facebook has emerged as such a strong place to market I really cannot ignore the urgency there. So if I go ahead I have to decide what the marketing angle is going to be. I guess I am adding to my business side, not taking anything away. 

I have added to my personal life also when we adopted a dog from a local humane society in November. Unfortunately things got complicated with his pre-existing leg injury and we had to have the front right leg amputated on December 21 and a bullet removed from his hip. Not to worry he spent the Holidays on a big bed being thoroughly catered to.  Now the drains and stitches are out and his head cone is off he can lick his private parts again so he is feeling happier. We have to work on getting him back to a new physical normal which means building up the strength in the front leg and his overall muscle tone.

I do enjoy stopping here with my cup of tea or coffee so I will try and do so more often. I will share, vent and as I did today think out loud.

Happy 2012, Jill (and this would have been my father’s Birthday – still miss you after all these years)

© admin for Life Deco, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dogs, Facebook, New Year

In 2010 Jill Crossland Coaching grew in the way that I had engineered, veering away from life coaching and taking on more business clients, an unexpected plus was working with male entrepreneurs. This works well as not all women like my direct and down to earth coaching style. As I said to one female client last month ”You don’t pay me to agree with you.”

TimeFinders Magazine is looking for a new name that better encapsulates its broad demographic with the common denominators of being a woman with a business, family and personal life. Contest details can be found at the bottom of the home page.

In 2010 I became part of  The Nuttermother online book club because I wanted to broaden my book choices; while I didn’t read every book the ones I choose took me  away from my usual genres. If you haven’t done so already I recommend that you read Little Bee and The Help before taking on the latest crop of bestsellers. Little Bee brings you face to face with the question what would you do in a life and death moment. While also looking at the possible actions of a significant other if they were there beside you.

The Help should be read before the movie comes out in August of this year. I am not convinced that Hollywood will do justice to the subtle nuances of both the characters and the time in which they live. I would have preferred to see the story brought to life through an HBO or PBS”s Masterpiece Contemporary production.  By the way if you were a fan of Upstairs, Downstairs new episodes are being broadcast in April.

Last years crop of  mainstream TV shows had very few bright spots apart from The Good Wife and Blue Bloods; both shows have a strong cast and well written story lines. For me The Walking Dead was just another zombie show only with a better cast and script then usually accompanies this type of entertainment. Whatever your entertainment preference is it is important to carve out time to relax. 

Every January I encourage clients to avoid the vicious circle of resolutions and instead we work on setting realistic goals and format a plan to find personalized solutions to problems. It is best to stay away from the one size fits all answers to life’s challenges. The National Post had another approach in their article “Instead of resolutions why not try solutions?”. The first thing that I have done was to purchase the new Blackberry Torch this weekend in the hopes of being a bit more efficient when out and about. Now to find the time to set it up to meet my specifications.

I haven’t mentioned the dogs in awhile. Mia is as lovely and easy going as always. She is enjoying the dog park that the town has finally opened. Neurotic Duke was really good  at the park for a couple of weeks but then suddenly started to be grumpy with the others dogs so we had to make the decision to stop taking him. That’s my boy, always a challenge no matter how old he gets.

I hope that you continue to drop by Life Deco and I will endeavor to stay current in my writings. Happy New Year!

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Blackberry Torch, dogs, New Year, Nuttermother, PBS, tv shows

Today December 21st is Winter Solstice and it is steeped in female folklore:

Women and the Moon

Celebrating Winter Solstice is a bit long but interesting

As a coach I often hear women say that there is an emptiness or void inside of them and perhaps the key to filling that lies in a re-connection with our past. An untamed beach with waves crashing in powerful harmony speaks to my ancient Anglo-Saxon self. And is probably the closest to a spiritual experience that I have known to date.

As a New Year begins our ancestry may hold unexpected revelations about ourselves. The success of 2011 is in the soil between your fingers as you plant herbs, a mountain climbing expedition or returning to the religion of your childhood.    

With Your Biscotti & Coffee

1) The first written record of this sport dates back to 712. Cleaning Up Sumo by Hannah Beech/Saitama Sakae

Two Interesting Women

2) Dr. Hawa Abdi – Heroic, Female and Muslim by Nicholas D. Kristof

3) The perfume business is not all roses especially for perfumer Patricia de Nicolai, Scent of a Woman by Nathalie Atkinson

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dr Hawa Abdi, folklore, Patricia de Nicolai, religion, spirituality, sumo wrestling, winter solstice

Which books we get rid of goes to the root of what type of readers we are. I read fiction and biographies to relax and for the escapism into a different life and someone else’s reality. If I don’t like it I pass it on or take it to the second hand book store. I am not snobbish about my library; hardback, trade paperback or written in the margins from a garage sale if I enjoyed reading it….it stays.

As a business coach business books get rotated quickly as they have to be current. There are of course the classics that all entrepreneurs should read such as: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson, The E-Myth by Michael Gerber or the timeless Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich

The majority of life self-help books are overly clichéd and devoid of any genuine long term life solutions, unless it is exceptionally thorough I don’t buy much of the self-improvement genre. This criterion makes it easy to maintain a manageable selection.

While I have a minimalist attitude when to clutter in general, obviously this doesn’t seen to apply when it comes to books.There are piles in the living room and dining room, my office shelves are full and what does the top of my beautiful antique bedside table look like any way? I’ll just put a basket underneath to catch the spill off and stop it from groaning.

I can definitely relate to Joshua Ferris sentiments in his last line of the NY Times piece “………..I leave and come back, and the books I find there tell me I’m home.”

I must also confess that while I will not read about what famous people are wearing, eating or where they vacation; I am curious about what books they are reading. So Lesley Jane Seymour , Al Gore,  Rahm Emanuel, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, Michaëlle Jean, Angela Merkel what are you taking to bed?

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: business identity, celebrities, entrepreneurs, Life, self-help, the New York Times

Needless to say this was not ideal dog walking weather so I stretched my imagination to keep them amused with indoor activities. Duke who is known to many of you as the neurotic chocolate lab recently turned nine and his long legs are showing the early onset of arthritis. His vet has just started him on a course of Cartrophen Vet which is of plant origin and not a steroidal anti-inflammatory.  There are four shots so we will see if it helps.  Mia, his 18 month old Australian Shepherd sister has no sympathy and continues to bug the hell out of him until he plays with her so he needs something!

The weather is particularly hard on the two feral cats who have adopted me or vice versa. I have my quota of indoor cats; anymore and I will be close to ‘cat lady’ status. So we built them a  shelter and ensure that they receive dry bedding, regular fresh water and food. No matter how cold and hungry it is my voice that they wait for first when I go outside. When I speak to them their bodies relax and ears perk up, next they want the fresh water and then finally they eat.

Whether soothing a frightened animal, talking to a friend or writing an article it is our voice and the words that we choose that carries the message.

Blogs are all about our voice, the words that we type convey the nature and style of the blog. One of the first things I ask my clients. What do you want to achieve with your blog? Do you want to post about business, life, lifestyle,  travels, writing?  The range is vast so in order to stand out you have to have a clear vision and goals for your blog.

So with that in mind we have changed the look of this blog to reflect more of what we are about. Imagine that you are  sitting in a café with friends discussing movies, politics, books, food and life in general. Life Deco is a blog where we aim to capture that same atmosphere. Drop by anytime all you need to bring is your favorite beverage. We hope that you will leave a comment for that will keep the conversations stimulating.

Thank you to Alanna Morley of  Alanna Inc for designing the Life Deco blog.

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Australian Shepherds, blogs, chocolate lab, Christmas, goals, Mia, writing