Archive for the ‘TimeFinders Mag’ Category
January seems from its very position on the calendar to be a month where we are both reflective yet anxious to move forward and achieve new and exciting goals. One of the hardest things to do is to get rid of what is not working. Which is why this blog Life Deco is causing me some angst. Looking at the dates I don’t write in it as much as I should but then what is the rule there? Should I get rid of it? ………..No………. Where would I have put my tribute to my dog Duke, share books, websites or merely sounded off if it no longer existed?
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)
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It seems as though we were just celebrating the arrival of a new century and here we are a decade into it.
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!
We all occasionally day dream about what life would be like if aunt Bertha (the aunt we never knew we had) passed away and left us a small fortune. My own dream takes the shape of travel, work and learning.
After touring some of the world’s best wineries, a week at a fabulous Spa, the train trip through England, Scotland & Ireland and shopping in Hong Kong; I would move to a town with a really good university and take courses in political science, international relations, women’s studies. While absorbing all this new knowledge I would work on expanding my coaching practice & online magazine because for me that all speaks to a life well lead.
In the meantime until Aunt Berta does pass way I have found some websites that provide online university lectures. I am currently working my way through the ones from the Harvard School of Business.
It all started when I decided that each month this year, I would put up a photograph of a different city on the home page of TimeFinders Online Magazine. January’s edition featured New York. Then HARO (Help A Reporter Out) wrote about Nightshift NYC (book~blog~events). A fascinating look at a city that never sleeps and the people who work from sunset to sunrise.
Unlimited Magazine has an excerpt from the book and what seems for many of us a down the rabbit hole lifestyle. Until I read that I had never really thought about how hard it must be to function in a world that predominately revolves around a 9-5 way of life.
My new website is up and running, when you arrive at the main portal or home page you will see that we are now:
- Jill Crossland Coaching
- TimeFinders Magazine
- Create Your Team
- Fabulously Over 40
There will be more new & exciting things to come in 2009.
In TimeFinders Magazine, I want to attract advertisers who are compatible with the content. I am looking for wine, chocolate or luxuary food companies, magazines such as More Magazine, travel agencies that book great trips for women, and beauty products for women over 35. I would like to include more women’s stories plus writers from the US and over seas. The area that is Fabulously Over 40, will be expanded to include other social media outlets such as FaceBook. There will be podcasting in the coaching area.
So many plans, so little time!
- Your comments or suggestions
- About advertising in TimeFinders Magazine
- If you would like to write for us
- To inquire about joining the group of professional women on Create Your Team
Dear New, Out of Touch Head of Microsoft
I could look up your name but Microsoft has never bothered to get to know me, in fact I feel like the forgotten computer user so let me introduce myself.
1. I am the solo-entrepreneur
2. I need to be able to run programs without your annoying ‘This program is not responding’. When that happens you cost me time.
3. I would like you to realize that the forgotten computer user is a reasonably intelligent person. I don’t know as much as my computer geek people, I am not a twenty something gamer but I know more than the housewife in Podunk.
4. I long ago gave up on asking you for help with a problem because after making my way through your frustrating online forms the answer reflected one of the stereotypes mentioned above. That is when and if you do reply.
5. As a coach I use my computer mainly for business – I have a website, blog and a presence on web 2.0. The majority of my business is done by phone sessions and I want to expand to web conferencing. All this means that I will spend money to keep my computer, virtual presence and company running efficiently.
In closing I want you to know that I have over the years sorted my through the maze of useless/unnecessary programs that you have shoved at me. I now use a mixture of what works for me………the solo entrepreneur. In case you are still confused this also means that I don’t have ‘people’ and your Small Business promotions are usually worthless to me.
As I start to research my next computer purchase (to meet my growing needs) I am so glad to hear the Vista is proving to be the same time consuming frustration that Windows XP was. But then I don’t exist. Well, maybe you won’t either in 2008, I think I will look into Macs. Of course my research will be done through Google as MSN search results are as always inadequate.
Thank you for your time.
Jill Crossland, Business & Life Coach
I see that Chatelaine has managed to go through another editor. Sara Angel is citing “personal reasons” but that explanation is as weak as the magazine’s generally lackluster content .
Like many readers I let my subscription lapse a few years ago but I do pick up a copy every now and then in the hope that it is finally starting to have a sense of direction.
Until it does get a sense of where it is going Chatelaine will continue to turn over editors and staff. The powers that be need to recognize that today’s woman is not the housewife of the past, she is instead sophisticated and well rounded. Probably running a successful business from her home office, raising two kids and trying to meet the needs of her aging parents. She wants to be well informed, know what other women are up to (not just those in Ontario) and yes, she is also interested in make-up & clothes that will give her quality and not break the budget. She tries to put a quick but balanced meal on the table (and doesn’t have time to bake those cookies that you are always pushing) before rushing off to her book club or her daughters soccer game. And she needs an article complete with related resources on where she and some girlfriends can go for a weekend in February.
With Chatelaine’s budget & experience they should be able to pull together a magazine for today’s Canadian woman. In January, I am taking my online magazine and reshaping it into an autonomous business and website separate from my coaching company. It has grown not by blindly pushing content at my readers but through listening to them. While I will honestly admit that I am hampered by lack of time and money (I use income from being a Coach to support the publication) ……… what is Chatelaine’s excuse?