How to Become an Author for an English-Speaking Audience from a Non-English Speaking Background

I have always wanted to write. It is in my blood just like teaching.

When I was born, everyone we knew said that I was born to teach, just like everybody else in my family. I came to resist the idea with all my sinew and soul. I thought that teaching would be boring or restricting. To me who lived where my parents worked, it was one, two, three, one, two, three and then you are sixty and retire. It did not help because basically teaching is in my blood and whatever I do becomes an advisory position.

Though, now, I am almost sixty and still I have not really written that book I always wanted to write in English. Yes, I am published in several languages, Finnish, Swedish and English. At least one of my early articles published in 1984 on the Women's Movement in Finland has been translated to many more languages, but a non-fiction book from start to finish has been just too much. Until now!

As a non-English speaking background person, even with well over forty years of language skills, university studies and work experience writing a book that would be read by everyone in the world (those who speak English) is a daunting task. The big question is how to sound like a native speaker to the wide audience? The other question is how to overcome my uncertainty with my own language skills?

I have a lingering dyslexia that very much shows in my written language, even in Finnish, which is a phonetically laid out, strait forward language. Then there is the fact that I speak three languages and depending on what language I wake up each morning determines my English comprehension or grammar for that particular day. It is hard to change but with the brain plasticity now a norm belief system, it can be done, right.

Also, often when I think about an expression or a particular word I need, I come up with the right one either in Finnish or Swedish but translating that directly to English will become difficult, sometimes even impossible as the meaning of it will not come right to my mind.

Then I suddenly have a gap in my words, even simple ones while writing or speaking and then I have to come up with a roundabout way of expressing myself. The difficulties never cease. I am also used to people correcting my English language.

I am that Finnish person who puts the prepositions wrong every time, who cannot distinguish between S:s and C:s or K:s and G:s, who everyone asks to repeat their sentences or words to determine what they really are. I am the person who uses Latin words to compensate the English and who pronounces the historical places with their original names thus confusing the native English speakers. There is so much to compensate that one simply cannot express that in words. How would I be able to write a book in English?

I wrote an article about Helena Blavatsy to the Theosophist a few years back. It was published in 2008. It took two years to write. Of course it was an academic article where all the facts have to match with their sources and all the arguments have to be logical providing a conscientious and well thought argumentation. I painstakingly researched, wrote and re-wrote. It was a challenge that Joy Mills, one of the theosophical thought leaders in the world urged me to accomplish. It was her support and belief in that I could do it that got me through it. A good friend who then took it upon herself to edit my language helped me to finish it. And I was able to take the article to India, Chennai and Adyar and deliver it to the editor myself. It took a few years before it was published but finally the journal arrived by post and there it was. What an accomplishment I thought, then. Seeing that article in print was such a joy to me. But writing a whole book from start to finish, all those doubting chapters, how could I accomplish that? It did start with a plan after the idea struck me.

I had great need to get my message across to an audience that can be helped with my book. I set on researching what to do. I found a good article about writing a book proposition in a week and again, painstakingly followed it through, with setting my own plan. Then I attended some webinars, seminars and a day conference on how to become a 'person of influence'. There it struck me that I had come to a decision to commit to writing my book.

Weaving out useful advice from the information overflow of everything connected to writing is a huge task, but in the end I decided to boost my confidence by signing a self publishing contract with Xlibris, an international leader of indie writing. Doing that has paid off due to the support I have gotten from the repeated calls from the publishing consultant and other people involved. A membership in Authors Learning Centre has helped. My curiosity has been constantly fed with new ideas. But it would not have been possible without other support. It seems that there has to be a 'muse' to really inspire me to keep going. My 'muse' has been the 'Howling at the Moon' women's community for Unstoppable women run by a great friend and a success catalyst herself.

It is important to a person who is writing in a second language to have a strong support group to encourage daily action. Otherwise, whatever money is paid as incentive goes to waste as the spark dies with all the struggle with words and expressions that just do not come out right. It is not that I did not know what I wanted to say. It is about how to make it flow and how to get the right message out in flowing English. It is not that I would not have attempted it before, even trying my hand in fiction. The task has proved futile before. So what is it that made it work this time? I find two reasons for it.

Firstly, I feel that I am out of time as an emerging writer. If you are going to write a book, the time is now! This is a great decision to make. All become quite easy after one commits. There is not better time than now. All the daunting tasks can be tackled one at the time with a good plan and daily action.

Equally, in the second place is the real practical support with help with the language expression. A good personal editor who can interpret you and your meaning into a flow, so that the result will sound to you as it was meant to be, with all those right articles, prepositions and leading words that were lost in translation in the depths of your own brain. So, what are my lessons from getting my manuscript out there to the publisher in timely manner?

Number one is to have an exceptional support group and number two is to only have a selective hearing about who and what to listen to from all the negatively discouraging 'cacomania' out there. Only let the positive waves affect you and your actions. Some risk taking also needs to come to play.

Choose an encouraging publishing stream and drive to make your own experience as enjoyable as possible with positive thinking and taking action towards your goal. Intervals are a good thing. Let the manuscript mature.

And most of all, enjoy the journey into a published author in the English speaking world where everyone is able to pick your book either in hard cover, soft cover or download it as an eBook.

My recommendations:
- a good book proposition
- a great women's support group
- a personal coach to help with the plan
- a personal interpreting editor
- lots of positive thinking
- genuine action to the plan

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Be the Change You Want to Be - My Year with Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Have you ever questioned yourself and your own ability to change your own circumstances to make your life more meaningful and happier? Have you ever thought that life is really hard and that making a conscious change is not worth the trouble? That leaving everything to chance would be the easiest thing to do? Well, I certainly have.

In my vocabulary, it is called procrastination. Leaving everything to that little change that it might get better on its own without continuous conscious effort from ourselves. We do it all the time, at work, at home, with friends, with family and in ourselves. It is the easy way out. Stalling! We don't really want to change, get out of the familiar and form new habits.

According to research what people believe and what they actually do is a very different thing. We might clearly see that we are overweight, that our environment is non-productive, our friendships are destructive to our development, but instead of doing something to change the situation, we cling to the comfort of it and complain about the situation. We might even blame it on something or someone else. It is comforting to think that we are helpless as it is the outside circumstances that depress us and leave us no other options than taking it as it comes. We might as well accept the defeat right there and then. Some of us might make an attempt, for a short while and then fall back to the old habits when we find that it did not work anyway. It was doomed from the start and we knew it. We forget so easily. What we did a year ago is not relevant to what we do today anyway.

OK. So, you want to lose weight! The easiest way is to fast, for a few days and lose 3 kg in the process. Or to buy any of the women's magazines and follow any of the celebrity insights and compare yourself to anyone of the pictures, especially the 'greatest looser' pictures an find yourself wanting. And you are back to your old habits.

So, you want to get more energy. The easiest way is to join any gym for a month and/or take up an exercise regime three times a week for eight weeks challenge. That is habit forming and you can be sure that you've lost some centimeters from your tummy and thighs. But did you really change anything in yourself or did you just make a little payment for the change that everything will be better if you just did something? And how about getting a face lift like the celebrities do or a non-invasive treatment that takes five centimeters from your tummy in 30 minutes treatment for a price.

Or, you want to get healthy in another way by eating supplements. Then going to the nearest chemist will be exciting as they certainly have an array of supplements that is said to work and have a slight possibility of aiding in the good health project you have going on there. I am getting sarcastic here even though it is not my aim with this article.

I tried it all during the last year. That is the point! Everything I do becomes a research project. I have done the research. And here are the results:



1. Losing weight.
During the last year I tried many methods of fasting and dieting.

The one I still find the easiest and the best after years of practice is called the Lemon Detox fast with Neera combined Palm and Maple syrup. It can now be bought from most of the health shops around Australia due to the new packaging and renaming the product with a more attractive brand name (Lemon Detox).

I found the fast involves very little effort in that you only need to follow the directions and forget about eating or drinking anything else except water and herbal tea. The reaction I got from those near me was a question on how I could tolerate to fast for ten days drinking lemons without eating? The answer is that forgetting about eating was easier for me than keeping a schedule of eating whatever was on the list of things that I could eat. The booklet that comes with the syrup has lots of suggestions for diverse needs and personality types. The Australian instructions are much gentler on the body than the once I followed in Finland during the 1990's although the practice is the same. The benefit was that I lost three kilos and my cravings for sugar and Coke disappeared.

The easiest way for me to lose weight in a longer term was to quit sugar altogether. David Gillespie in his book Sweet Poison. Why Sugar Makes Us Fat makes a good case study argument for the refined sugar as poison that can be an incentive for some people who need to have a scientific and historical explanation to why eating sugar has made such an impact in the human nutritional habits. It gives a believable explanation why type 2 diabetes is rampant in our society when before it was not even known.

That was my incentive. The fact that my doctor told me that I could fix my type 2 diabetes threat myself. During the last year my sugar levels have gone from 13 to 5.9 and I lost 17 kilos with no more effort than watching my sugar and refined foods diet.
My daughter who said that she could not give up sweets, especially chocolate, restricted her sugar intake in support of my effort and has so far lost 14 kilos.


My only challenge is in the finding that chocolate is also made with maltitol as a sugar replacement and holidays like Christmas and Easter where kindhearted people you love give you chocolate as a present can give you 2 kilos just because maltitol acts just like sugar in your body or maybe it is the fat. Then it is giving that up once the habit has formed that presents a new challenge.

2. Getting more energy through exercise and supplements.
My only and most enjoyable exercise habit has been walking our dog. And that itself is an effort for me who just do not like anything to do with physical strain except when doing it in a social context which I do not have anyway.

So, I tried the gym. I paid for it in order to have an incentive to go there. But no, it did not stick. I had no friends to go with except a paid companion and that is no fun. I tried to take up an eight weeks challenge for myself combined with supporting a charity. After one week, I found an excuse not to go. At least I am supporting some young girls for education with that payment I made. So no amount of money as incentive has been effective enough to get me into exercising. Nothing came of it. What my brain knows to be a best method for losing weight is something I just do not want to do. I tried other non-invasive fat loosing methods instead.

The first one was the ultrasound fat burner. I believe, it actually aided my weight loss last year. At least it was fun although a bit painful. But since I had paid for it, I went through with it and in the process found some other cool things about the modern beauty industry I never would have known otherwise. The benefit of it for me was the experience.

The second non-invasive fat losing technique I am trying is iLipo. So far it has not had any effect but it has been fun. Much more fun that any gym I ever went to. Trying all the machines that shake, massage and squish you in effort to lose weight has been an experience I would not give up. The judgement is still out on its effectiveness, though. I will keep you posted on that.


The best and the most beneficial to my changing appearance during the last year has been the Nu Skin Galvanic Face and Body Spas combined with the Pharmanex supplements, especially Vitality and now R2. I have tried many others as well.

There has been a long time habit in our family to eat supplement as it was a firm belief of my grandfather that the food quality in Australia was not enough to sustain all the vitamins and minerals. He used to order his supplements from those considered by his research the best suppliers and I believed that this contributed to his and my grandmothers long life span despite lots of health risks.

In 2005 after a longer struggle with stress at work and an operation I was recommended Matagenics Fibroblex Plus and Meta A & B Complex as a repair by my friend and massage person. And wow what a difference it made to my life. I could feel how it literally went to my 'bones and sinew' and made my life easier. I supplied the supplement to my daughter and my daughter-in-law after their childbirths and both had really good results. Unfortunately the effects of these supplements are not lasting and in time after 7 years of usage I could not feel the benefits any longer although I am sure they helped.

So, last year I was looking for new things, especially as I knew there was so much new medical research done in the world after the Human Genome was completed. Not only that but there has been a tremendous change in the approach to healing practice as well. There was bound to be more efficient methods and supplements on the market. That's when I was introduced to AgeLoc Science as an approach to resetting the cellular and attacking the cause instead of repairing the damage after diagnosing the signs.

The AgeLoc Science and its friendly positivistic approach of changing the gene-expression instead of using the gene manipulation as the rule to design new human beings as a preferred human behavior also came as an answer to my idea historical research on what really can happen with decoding the human DNA. Instead of looking at it as a treat, we can find a more positive and constructive approach that is based on the same science.

Nothing in my former experience had prepared me in embracing this as a possibility. So I tried it all. I have taken the supplement as recommended and found that they really work. I now feel like I did in my late 20's before giving birth to my third child. I know this because I can remember how I felt then and how much energy I had then in contrast of how little energy I had a year ago. My family has also experienced the benefits in me being able to do much more with them, like going shopping for whole days and going to movies in the evenings after a full workday.
And after my resent blood tests, my doctor says that from the evidence he is convinced that LifePak and Optimum Omega have been a contributing factor in my excellent results. That's good enough for me.

The benefits I have acquired with using the spas can be seen in the picture. It is real.


3. Self-Development and life choices
I find it impossible to go through change without incentive or motivation. The modern brain science tells me that I need a lot of dopamine as a fix and seeing myself in a more presentable light might be one but it does not stretch to maintain my need to change in order to improve my life circumstances.

So, of course the last year has also been full of books and chatting with friends and finding new ideas on all areas that life can bring. My favorite books are in the picture apart from The Positivity, by Barbara Fredrickson, which I have passed on already.

In the nutritional field the winner is David Gillepie, hands on. His books have certainly inspired me beyond just looking at food but to actually start paying attention to what is in the food I eat. I also now own a very cool App called FoodSwich that allows me to scan everything I buy and see if there are healthier varieties on the market to try.

In the business strategy field my son recommended Business Model Generation and I have been fascinated by the approach. And you can also Business You. How cool is that!

In the motivational and changeological fields there is Barbara Fredrickson with her positivity research and Les Robinson with the psychology of change. What a combination. And the coolest thing is that on Pinterest I can now collect pictures for My Positivity Portfolio as a reminder to see how positive I can get.

In the spiritual field I will choose The Healing Code by Alexander Loyd. What an impact it had on me and judging from my friends to whom I have spread the message, it is a huge source of solace in many ways. I use the method and feel better for it continuously.

And in the end it is back to my old favorite anyway. It is back to the roots with the Blavatsky Quotation Book, edited by Winifield A. Parley. I better check what it says for March the 31st:

"The pivotal doctrine of the Esoteric philosophy admits no privileges or special gifts in man (sic), save those won by his own Ego through personal effort and merit throughout a long series of metempsychosis and reincarnations." (SD,1,17)

How suitable is that for the last words for 'being the change you want to be' right now.
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The 10th Communities in Control Conference in Melbourne, May, 2012

It was really exciting to be attending the 10th Communities in Control Conference in Melbourne. In our invitation it says that it will be the last one and many of the attendees have certainly wondered about that purely because this conference is one of the most useful and beneficial conferences for the nonprofit sector in Australia that I can think of.

I was completely taken by the conference last year and this year is no difference. I think that attending is one of the best decisions I've made this year. The atmosphere of the conference just blows you away with it's excitement.

To me this year's Communities in Control Conference was a heartfelt reminder of the things I hold dear, which is working for the social justice and equality in the world.

It is really a noteworthy thing that while we are working in our daily tasks in the community and thinking that we are doing it for the good of the community and especially benefit those who are vulnerable in our society, we can easily loose the tread on what it means to be working for a good cause. Our struggles for funding and other opportunities often shift the focus to things that lead us to pettiness and fragmentation, away from the real issue, which is to maintain social justice in our community and nation.




The Communities in Control Conference works to restore the balance helping us to hold on to that big picture. It gives us some worthy suggestions on who to follow in order to get to the right information, that 'right stuff' in maintaining our knowledge base on where the world is at this particular moment in the human rights and social justice area of things.

I was literally blown away with the discussions in this year's conference on many subjects. Last year, I was really impressed but this year's conference managed to catch my attention at every turn. My mind was captured at every moment, with every speech and every speaker.

The Hon Peter Ryan, the Deputy Premier of Victoria rightfully questioned the invitation to this conference as the last communities in control conference. It is really right and proper that the format of the conference should follow the times and maybe change to something reflecting more of the so called modern times in media, but at the end of the day, it is the human beings in the conference and where else would we get such a wonderful possibility to meet new people whose concerns are similar to us or to listen to an oration on social justice with teary eyes. Not online, as the atmosphere is very hard to transfer through broadcasts. It is the human interaction that inspires and lifts us up to such new hights that ensure that we feel like we need to 'do something' about mobilising for building and maintaining social justice in our communities and the nation.




From the first speech at the conference delivered by Dr James Whelan from the Centre for Policy Development about the 'Big Society' movement and it's possible effect on Australian society, I was holding my seat in awe of how much information I had been missing while concentrating on my own organisation's struggles in gaining a threshold in service delivery in our area.

I had not noticed how the global impact of the Big Society ideal has been creeping to my world without me giving it any deep thought. Luckily, I can now read the report that is published by the Centre for Policy Development online. I am looking forward to reading James Whelan's analysis and research and by doing so acquiring some tools to encounter the signs of the Big Society taking over my consciousness.




Associate Professor Natasha Cica, the Director of Inglis Clark Centre for Civil Society in Tasmania had recently published a fascinating book, called Penner Dreaming about the stories and the pictures taken around the disappearance of the lake Penner in Tasmania during the 1950's. She also told us some touching stories that will be part of her next book on the Polish refuges from the WW II to Australia.

She raised a question on where do we need to take our stand in being responsible for our own actions despite the systematic possibility for compromises in human dignity some dictatorial nations (like the nazi Germany) provided or provide for performing heinous acts in the name of the ordered society. Her speech left me with wonder and a desire to buy her book for further reference.




Renowned health sociologist Dr Samantha Thomas from the Monash University spoke about the scare campaigns that are rampant concerning obesity and gambling.

She held the view, backed by her research that the individuals and the communities involved should be part in finding solutions to the problems. That is the only way to gain insight and really make a difference in removing some obstacles from finding dignified ways to solve the problems. The results of the scare campaigns only lead to more harm done to the society at large than ensuring that there is real outcomes for the people and communities involved. A very inspiring speech, indeed.




My favorite speech for the first day was delivered by George Magalogenis, an Author, Journalist, Political Commentator and a Blogger. It was a very intellectual speech and covered a lot of ground in Australian politics and the history of politics. I now look forward to reading his book, the Australian Moment and making sure that I read some of his blogs to keep up with the political atmosphere in Australia in relation to the global issues.

The first day ended with Judith Lucy's hilarious comedy performance that left me giggling and a little embarrassed, long after exiting the conference room, which I am sure was just her intention from the beginning.

THE SECOND DAY

If the first day of the conference, in my opinion, was excellent, the second day easily topped it and ensured that the participants left with renewed spirits and an eager mindfulness about social justice issues that we need 'to do something about'.




The day began with Margaret Simons, a well known journalist, author, academic and the founder of YouCommNews talking about the end of journalism as we know it. "There might not be journalists as we know in 20 years but the will always be acts of journalism." We do live in an age where everyone can publish, anything and everything online.

She held a positive view to the worldwide fragmentation of information and news and said that even though it might be fragmented, with a little bit of effort, it is possible to find 'the good stuff'. An audience needs to choose carefully who to follow to get to the unbiased, well researched news and act of journalism. It is all in the skills of how to navigate through the maze of unnecessary information flow.

Her speech left me thinking that a community organisation such as in which I work at or indeed any kind of modern business that is working to help the vulnerable people in the community needs someone who can keep up with the big picture that will help us to guide the organisation to informed decision making.




Scott Riddle, the Strategic Syndication Partnership Manager for Google then followed the lead of Margaret Simons and informed us of all the new technology, help and systems that Google.org, the nonprofit part of the Google business has actually already put in place to help the nonprofits of the world online. He talked about cloud computing and raised concerns in the audience about privacy issues. He acknowledged all the concerns and said that they were really good points and that Google was certainly putting a lot of effort into dealing with such issues as privacy etc.

I was quite fascinated by The OurSay Panel that followed. On the first day, the participants had been invited to log on to the OurSay.com, write down the question that we would have liked to be answered by the politicians and vote on the questions that others had raised. The three top questions were then presented to a panel consisting of former and current, local, state and federal politicians.

What was interesting was to hear their point of view to the questions raised. It left me with a definite aim to actually look more deeply into this kind of online mobilising of the public behind important questions that need our attention.




Next Damian Ogden, the founder and Executive Director of Campaign Action and an Obama Campaign Advisor give us his insights to how to organize meaningful campaigns for a good cause.

I was really impressed by his high ethics in planning and mobilising people behind worthy causes. I am sure that the program his company runs would benefit anyone who is in a process of thinking about what to do about concerns and how to go about doing whatever it is that needs to be done. I certainly will take this up anywhere I go and talk about the social justice as an issue to be raised in relation to building equality in our nation.




After that, it was time to announce the the winner of the Joan Kirner Social Justice Award winner and to listen to the Joan Kirner's fantastic Social Justice Oration. It truly made my day by reminding me and everyone else why we are working in the community. It is to help others and the world to reach the goal of Social Justice all around the world.

I do not think that there was a dry eye in the audience while listening to the Joan Kirner's speech. It was a heartfelt reminder to us all about the huge work that is there in the community and society for those who set the goal of helping nations to equality, peace and freedom as a main purpose of their life's work.

A really worthy cause to follow and I am looking forward to seeing where the new forms of the Communities in Control Conferences will lead us.
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LAPPSET Seminar in Brisbane; From Children's and Senior Parks to Intergenerational Play

                                
Community capacity building has been a passion for me for the past five years. As a Service Manager for Finncare, Home and Community, Aged Care Services for the Australian Finnish community, I noticed that it is really hard to inspire people who have been guided to passivity in their retirement to revitalise their interest in recreational sports and fitness. If we think that it is hard to pick up a new habit as a young person, how hard would it be to change your attitude when you are set to the end of life path already at the age of 65.

As a Director, responsible for providing community care services for a large community in every age group, I have come to realize that intergenerational solutions are the best and most effective in terms of getting the community involved in their own wellbeing. Promoting healthy lifestyle is most efficient when everybody has the change to be together in the same space. It could be at different times of the day but it is the connection to the community and the feeling of belonging that is important.

My search for inspiration for Intergenerational Play has long roots, starting from the cultural dance and games that were such a wonderful experience for me as a young person. The connectedness to friends, family and community can not be stressed enough when talking about what inspires people for community involvement and healthy lifestyle. If there is a reason to be mentally active, live longer at home, be involved in the world, then my experience shows that it is easier to take up new habits to enhance that wellbeing.


Recently, I attended an innovative Seminar on Parks and Playgrounds in Brisbane, organised by the LAPPSET Group. They are playground equipment specialists from Finland and the leaders of the multi-generational playground design concept.

The Lappset Seminar introduced the participants to innovative ways of looking into public playground design, from defining who are the park equipment uses to suggesting practical ways to new playground design.

Many interesting talks were given explaining the necessity for careful understanding of the community needs, of planning suitable playgrounds to meet these needs and ideas on how to implement the whole Intergenerational Play concept to the modern way of life.

From Tuire Karaharju-Huisman, a researcher to aging population from Melbourne, I learned that by 2017, 15% of Queenslanders are over 65 but only 43% of people between 65-75 are active enough to keep them in good health. It is of grave importance for an aging person to be agile enough to avoid falls that can lead to permanent health risks. Walking alone is not enough to keep the kind of personal fitness, strength, balance and flexibility that enables a long healthy lifestyle. What is needed is some planned activities that are especially designed to maintain personal fitness and health.

One good example of the national focus on Senior Parks is found in Spain, where there are more than 1000 parks designated to promote Senior Health. This doesn't mean that they are for the seniors alone as many parks are used for different age groups during the different times of the day. This requires that they are planned to be diverse enough for everybody. The focus then shifts to designing a suitable play area where multi-generational play is possible.

On the other hand, I was made to understand that young people have their own needs and many times it is important to take into account that they might want a whole park devoted just to their entertainment. The huge success of Parkour in the designated parks points to that. There again, it is essential to note that boys and girls learn in a different way.

According to Ali Kadhim, the Australian Parkour Champion, boys learn to jump and then land as opposed to girls who train to land before learning to jump. And up to now, I haven't even mentioned the original mass uses of the playground equipment, the children under 10 where there are such noted enormous differences in age play that for example 4 and 7 year old children do not even play together, not to mention in the same way.

Ali Kadhim pointed out that in today's society where all the children are being supervised and all the risks for harm are carefully measured, there is a need for children and youth to search for their limits in order to develop their self-confidence. Parkour, for example, let's the kids find their own strength and limitations in a safe environment.

Jenette Blake, from Queensland Health called for everyone 'to consider taking physical activity out of the gym and into the playground' where intergenerational community involvement would enhance the general wellness and wellbeing of everyone. According to her, public parks are a cost-effective way to promote healthy communities. She also noted a changing public perception that encourages community evolvement.


Petteri Ikäheimo, the Asian Manager for the Lappset Group said that 'it is about doing things together', that if adults play together with their children in the playground, they are inclined to spend longer time there. The imperative, then, is to design the equipment so that it enables multi-generational play.

Well, after a day like that, who wouldn't be convinced? Especially, after we went to visit the Riverdale Park in Logan, where there is a wonderful playground, designed by LAPPSET where we were able to witness a marvelous Parkour demonstration by Ali and his Team9Lives mates.

In conclusion, I can say, that the attendees to the Lappset Seminar now have a considerably better understanding of the Intergenerational Play concept in global and multi-generational perspective. I feel that my passion for the Community Capacity Building has been enhanced and that I now feel even more enthusiastic in my goal to help to further Healthy Communities through striving to provide more opportunities for Intergenerational Play.

I sincerely thank the organisers for providing us with such a pleasurable and informative day and I look forward to working towards the realization of a dream where we could have more such interactive playgrounds in our own communities.

The Pictures in this blog are:
1. Rivedale Park at Logan, Queensland. A Parkour friendly design.
2. Team9Lives from Sydney
3. An inspirational quote
4. Ali Kadhim showing what he can do
5. Me testing my fitness, strength, balance and flexibility
6. Team9Lives Parkour demoinstration
7. An example of multi-generational playground equipment
8. Some Seminar participants at the Riverdale Park. In the forground Tuire Karaharju-Huisman

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Contemplation on Social Media

The Community Services Forum held at Cleveland discussing Social Media trends and the future of Volunteering.





The Queensland Compact, held at Sunshine Coast, Social Media Workshop.





Aged Care Services Forum held in Brisbane, encouraging participants to look at Social Media as Human Potential.





The members of Logan Country Chamber of Commerce at Jimboomba, being encouraged by Russell Lewis to use Social Media as a marketing tool.





Ehon Chan at Innovate Symposium Social Media Workshop organised by Volunteering QLD.





Yvette Adams introducing the Westside Business Women to Social Media usage in small business marketing at their breakfast meeting in Springfield Lakes.

Discussing the trends

It is unanimous, inevitable, decided and agreed that our world has gone through a complete Social Media revolution in a few years. We are more connected, accessible and visible than ever before. It is not a question of do we like it, it is a question of how to use it to the best of it's ability.

We do not run our businesses on like, we operate them on professionally well thought strategies. The use of Social Media is not a choice, it is a survival strategy that is being introduced to every facet of our lives, business and private.

There is no way a modern business owner, or a non-profit organisation can ignore Social Media as a viable tool for getting the message across to the existing customers and potential target groups.

Every layer of our society, from the Commonwealth and the State Governments and Advocacy Organisation to the smallest of the business owners and groups is considering Social Media.

Lately, we have witnessed the impact of Social Media in surviving catastrophes and influencing political decision making. It has been effectively used in gathering large crowds to one place to demonstrate or take action.

There is no doubt that the Social Media as a tool cannot be ignored. It can only be embraced and used to it's best advantage.

Those who are still in doubt should maybe try to apply the Critical Thinking Methods to how, where and which vehicle to use for their social media messages to be most efficient in the market place.

I have found that for a non-profit community organisation building a positive and engaging community through the social media outlets like the Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can be a good way to spread the community spirit.

On a personal level I've found that choosing the right social media vehicle for your personal and professional live is the key to engaging with your network. I've found that it is the quickest way to hookup with friends and business partners and get their immediate respond.

The choice of how you engage through the social media is all yours. Why not enjoy the experience to the full!



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Inspiration Application; An Unexpected Day in Amsterdam

Last week, I got stuck in Amsterdam. There was a storm and I missed my flight and landed a great opportunity to be inspired by the moment in time in a great city.

My conclusion is that Amsterdam is not a bad place to get stuck in. It is merely the question of how to size this unexpected opportunity suddenly and without any preparations. Quick decisions had to be made of what out of all the possibilities a visitor could choose to be inspired by.

So, I chose the most obvious, the canals. It is the quickest way. After all, that is the most striking feature I know about Amsterdam, besides the famous tulips, of course.

After making your way to the Amsterdam Central by train from the Airport, you just walk across the street and hop on a boat that will take you around the city's canals for a day. There is a combi-cruise available, where you can hop on-and-off wherever you like. The coolest thing ever, especially on a dreary mid-winter day.

Then it is another decision of where to hop-off as with a sudden opportunity time is of the most importance as you have to catch the next flight home, for sure.

The other great feature I know about Amsterdam is that it is full of great art. Hoping off next to the National Museum then becomes quite a simple decision. But would there be time enough in two hours to absorb it all? I' d say no. So the next available inspirational, fit-for-two-hours-experience is the Van Gogh Museum, right behind the previously mentioned one. And Wow!

It is an inspirational tour of the best kind. To me, it was an exercise in turning the dreary into colorful. Van Gogh, famously, knew how to do that.

Let's see! Here we have a person, who adores dreary landscapes and colors but instead becomes the trademark for orange.

To make the long story short, here is an example of a person who, at the age of 27, after making a sudden decision of becoming an artist instead of selling art, works tirelessly at improving his skills. He is also confident enough to forgo critique and hold on to the inspiration to the end. It is a show of real self-confidence in one's abilities to be able to say that you are satisfied by your work of art and leave it at that despite of what anybody else says.

I was fascinated by the way Van Gogh was inspired by the Japanese art and how it can be detected in his work. His famous work, 'The Bedroom', for example becomes much more understandable with the background knowledge of where he took his inspiration from. It is much like after watching the special features of making a movie, you can better appreciate the completed work. The Van Gogh Museum has certainly succeeded in giving the visitor that experience.

Amongst the inspirational art that inspired Van Gogh, I also found Odilon Redon, a new favorite of mine in inspiring for the mysterious.

One of the art works also reminded me that I should re-read Emile Zola, which would then in it's turn inspire with the understanding how the rebellious mind of the youth of the 19th Century can be turned into great art pieces.

What I did take with me after spending an unplanned day in Amsterdam as a spectator for great architecture, landscape and art was the concept of inspiration application.

The opportunity is in all of us, despite the dreariness of the day. It is learning to size the moment and channeling every inspiration to make our day a worthwhile experience. Holding on to that inspiration and letting it move us towards an enchanted life then becomes a little bit easier every day.

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Inspiration Application; Marketing the Best of You!

Last week I was at the Westside Business Women's Breakfast meeting listening to a very interesting and thought provoking talk by Deborah Jackson about marketing the best of you.

Deborah is a client attraction specialist who has written a book called Easy Marketing for Women. It is Pink!

She has chosen to write her book for women because she feels that most of the books on marketing have been written with men in mind and mostly take their examples from their experience. Her book highlights the female experience of joggling many tasks at one go.

Of course, when listening to talks at breakfast meetings, they are always condensed to their shortest essentials and to get the full benefit, you must then read the books and follow their advise to know if it works. Like other times, this is my speciality. I like following advice, if it leads to something worthwhile.

So, that is what I did. I read the book and followed the leads where it took me. I created a folder on my iPad memos for pursuing the best of me, everything I get inspired about and everything I could do if I wasn't doing what I do now. This takes serious contemplation. My folder contains headings suggested by Deborah, such as Branding, Passion, Reasons, Customers and Ideas.

For a week now, I have been putting some of my efforts into building a make belief company on what I do best. I have had discussions with friends and workmates on what they think about what I do best. It has been a very interesting experience. I really recommend Deborah's book for those who are thinking about starting a business or are seriously concerned about marketing the best of themselves to the well thought target groups.

My Experinnce

Listening to Deborah and other motivational speakers in many seminars over the last few months has left me thinking about inspiration application as a concept.

Every now and then we do need inspiration. Sometimes the inspiration we hold leads to action. If it does not, then we have lost a very valuable opportunity. Sometimes, the action we take is shortsighted as we may think that we know what we want but in the end, what we wanted wasn't what we really needed or what was the best of us.

Deborah gives us good practical tools for considering our marketing strategy. It can be applied everywhere, even in marketing the best of you.

Thank you for taking time to read my blog. Here is a link to Deborah's Website:
Here is a link to Westside Business Women's Website


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