Earlier this week, the amazing Amber Naslund (@Ambercadabra - my vote for the best Twitter name) posted a blog with this same title. Her post referenced a conversation she had about social media creating a superficial vantage point and how we think we know other people simply from reading blogs, tweets, and status updates. Partly in response to that and for other reasons, she wrote about who she really is. At the end of that post she invited everyone to do the same - write about what we wish people knew about us. I am taking her up on that even though I admit that I only present a portion of myself online. You may want to read her blog post first to understand the inspiration for what follows, but you don't have to (it is linked up there in the first sentence).
Before we get into what I wish you knew about me - some context on why Amber's post resonated with me. Several years ago I went from being a long time casual friend to a group of people to working with them. When we started working together, I made the point that knowing someone casually for years gives you a one dimensional view of that person, and when your relationship shifts (in this case from social to business), it is important to not assume that you know about the other people but to to ask/clarify. The social media lense can give that similar one dimensional view of our 'friends'. In my case I take responsibility for keeping a large part of me private. But I am following Amber's example and here are some things that I want more people to know about me. Warning ... long blog post ahead.
Since Amber is going to link to this blog post, I will take a moment to introduce myself. I am a professional accountant (CMA if you know or care about the differences). I have been described as an 'abnormal accountant' - probably because of my diverse interests and the fact that I care about business more than the technical aspects of accounting. Business Dreams Consulting is the name of the business I ran for 5 years when I was self-employed. This blog and the three that link to it, are a work in progress. I was using another blog platform that was discontinued and I am slowly re-posting those. My three other blogs (see links above) reflect some of the things I am passionate about books, creating personal success, and business musings. If you happen to visit them - just remember they aren't as organized as I would like but they are coming along!
Which is a good place to start with what you need to know about me (in no particular order).
I am a perfectionist and I suffer from ODSR (overly developed sense of responsibility - label invented by my friend Heather). When you combine those traits you get the intensity that I bring to my professional, volunteer, and personal life. I am reliable in the extreme and I know that is not news to anyone who knows me. I take commitments and deadlines seriously. If I say I will do it - I will. If I say I will be there - I will. If I say I will call - I will. If I take it on - I do it to the best of my ability. What people don't know is that I still haven't fully realized how unusual that makes me. I still get very frustrated with the way most of the world operates.
I like to be alone more than I like to be with people. I laugh when people tell me they need alone time too. Yes, that is what I mean but I need more than a few hours of alone time every day in order to survive. It seems hard to believe, but it is a tendency that is becoming more and more pronounced as I get older. Being with people, even my friends, wears me out. I get sick if I don't have my alone time which is simply my body creating what I need. My joke is that I am a failed loner because I do have a lot of friends and I care about them, I just can't spend too much time with them. I admit that I love the parts of my professional life that are non- traditional accounting roles such as delivering training and facilitating meetings. I like being 'on' and the sense of performing. Similarly I do very well at networking because that too is a performance. I need to re-charge after those things just as I do if I spend time with people in other ways. To apply a label to that I am a Meyers Briggs INTJ. I don't like the word 'Judging" (love Mastermind though) but I have done that test a few times over the past several years and it always comes up the same. The description resonates with me.
I can be alone in the midst of people which is probably why I love to go to music festivals like SXSW. I can hang out and listen to music, and I can go to the seminars on topics that have no apparent relevance to my life. Because ...
I love to learn. I love information. I love seminars and I read a lot. Some fiction (Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Faye Kellerman, Jonathan Kellerman, Kathy Reichs, Nora Roberts, Linda Fairstein) but mostly non-fiction. Books and blogs on personal success, business, social media, positive psychology, marketing, soul lessons, minimalism, and health. From that you can see that I have strange and diverse interests. I dabble in courses but intensely. For example, I took several years of intuitive development. I really hope that at some point, like Steve Jobs, I will be able to connect the dots looking backward. I hope that I will finally understand why I spend so much of my 'free' time reading and writing about these topics. It is my hope that they will all have converged to make a great next career for me.
The ability to listen is a skill that I consciously work on developing. Listening is not waiting for the other person to stop talking so that you can start - it is a skill. As I practice listening and the inevitable focusing on the other person that comes with that - I have realized that people think that I am their friend and that I like them - even when it is not true. I also have a really great memory and I effortlessly remember the details of people's lives. So not only do I listen, I remember names, places, and to ask them about what we talked about the last time we met. We must be 'close friends' ... um ... not really. (And to my real friends - you know I don't mean you!).
My other passions are the environment, the 2012 Shift, and making the world a better place. Those are my lesser known passions because they are a bit "out there". They are all linked. The 2012 Shift and the environment are linked because we need to change how we live so that we survive. I am a non-evangelical environmentalist. I believe that we all need to educate ourselves and to do what we can to stop killing our planet. Non-evangelical because I don't believe that I have the right to tell you what to do until I have done everything I can. Nothing makes me crazier than the hypocrisy of people who want ‘them’ (government and big corporations) to deal with environmental issues but won’t deal with what they can. Change comes one person at a time and while there is a role for the big; what each of us do every day is more important and impactful. I seldom say anything though ... that's where I really edit who I am.
I also believe that our current culture of negativity (blame, complain, justify, and "take") is impacting not just personal happiness but it is impacting our world. Yes, I believe that is where the extreme weather is coming from. We need to wake up and realize how lucky we are and lose the attitude of entitlement that pervades.
I admire people like Roz Savage - she is passionate about the environment and she has figured out a way to channel that passion and make a difference. There is no way I would ever ocean row though ... too into comfort. Which brings me to ...
I prefer to spend my money on a nice place to live every day than to spend it on vacations. It is a deliberate choice. I love where I live now!
I don't really know how to end this post other than to thank Amber for the inspiration. I have enjoyed reading the other responses.
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