Successful Misfits Rule

Roseanne Barr - nice Jewish grandma with radio show

2009-01-29T14:11:00Z

Roseanne is back. She's on talk radio - hosting a couple of shows. Who knew that the sitcom star would show up talking about progressive politics. What I like about her is that she doesn't give up. She had a hard start in life but made it into her own sitcom. She had some stuff with men but she's with a new guy hosting the show. She fell off the radar and now she's back on.
If you're different and talented this can happen. It may not always go well. So you learn from what happens and get on with life!

And she was into blogging before I could even spell it!

Roseannes World

Famous Business Failures

2009-01-17T05:59:00Z

Thiis is a great article all about the business people who failed and came back.

Fabulous Failures of Successful People

You won't succeed if you don't try, right? These six leaders learned from their mistakes and aren't likely to repeat them

By Jena McGregor

Business Week Article

Successful Failures

2009-01-17T05:55:00Z

They include Marilyn Monroe and The Beatles who were rejected at first. Keep on trying.

More on successful failures

Leaning by Losing

2009-01-17T05:48:00Z

Saw an interesting book about being a successful failure - learn by your mistakes - is the message - she also had a huge marketing campaign.

Misfit at work - YIKES

2009-01-08T05:04:00Z

It's interesting to watch managers at work.
One person doesn't fit and fails.
Another doesn't fit in and gets promoted.
What's up with that?
It's all about marketing.
The successful manager knows what he has to offer and found someone who needed that.
The unsuccessful manager is trying to fit in but doesn't. That battle obscures her talents.

Tipping Point,Blink and NOW Outliers

2009-01-08T04:55:00Z

Just read Outliers the new book from Malcom Gladwell. It is really fascinating because he looks at what it means to be successful not in the normal way but in an alternative way. Athletes don't just succeed because they train hard but also because they were born in the right month to give them more training so they have an advantage when it comes to selection.
I like hearing about people who do well because they revel in who they are and want to be different.
Read more about him here.Malcolm Gladwell's site.

Palin and McCain - Maverick or Successful Misfit

2008-10-05T04:28:00Z

Palin and McCain both claim to be mavericks. But are they successful misfits too? My answer is no. McCain may have been but once - disagreeing with others - and being unique - knowing who he is and selling those differences. Now he seems to be another a politician trying to win at all costs. He agrees with the right wing Evangelicals, follows most of Bush's policies and is using negative advertising like all the other politicos. Palin is playing I'm an ordinary person doing battle in Washington. But actually she is a very astute operator who could easily fit in in DC. She doesn't seem to understand who she is and make something of that but follow other peoples' scripts and thoughts. Mavericks no! Successful misfits no! Operators yes!

What does it mean to be an American?

2008-09-05T20:53:00Z

Many politicians seem to suggest that there is only one way to be an American (and patriotic). As America is a melting pot there are of course millions of ways to be a US citizen including disagreeing with those politicians who talk nonsense. Being a successful misfit as an American citizen makes perfect sense. You are free to be yourself!

Thanks to this blog which inspired my comments.

Iinnowdress blog

Fran Drescher supports gay marriage and she's divorced.

2008-09-05T20:47:00Z

I was lucky enough to go for a fundraiser for No on Proposition 8 - the marriage amendment to take away freedom and dictate rights. Fran Drescher hosted it. Most people know her as the star of The Nanny which she developed with her husband (now ex). She beat all odds about getting a show on TV and ran for many seasons and is now in syndication.
Her journey took a detour when she found she had cancer. Being a cancer survivor she is now a health and women's issues advocate AND a great political speaker.
She was not only supporting gay marriage but she was supporting the constitution and the separation of Church and State. She made a fabulous speech where she quoted more presidents than I knew existed.
SHE'S GREAT!

Fran Drescher Political Spokesperson

50 million people are changing the world - part 1

2008-07-15T03:23:00Z

I am reading a fascinating book - The Cultural Creatives by Paul H. Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson. Their research has unearthed a group of people who are idealists, activists, environmentalists and want to make a difference in the world. 50 million people is more than the population of France and they are changing the world. I love it! I love it because they are different but successful. Just up my alley!

Find out more

Innovation needs misfits?

2008-06-30T01:17:00Z

It's reached the NY Times and a blog on Innovation. Creative endeavour needs successful misfits more than it needs dilligent drudges. Link to the article

College Days - part 1

2008-04-26T14:04:00Z

One of the byproducts of such sites as Plaxo and LinkedIn is getting in touch with old friends. Recently I have got back in contact with some of my college buddies from about - well about - a long time ago - like twenty years. It made me think about how each of them took different paths but ended up with jobs that worked for them. What made their dream jobs. Names have been changed to protect the innocent or not so innocent.

M ended up working in Germany and then moved to Canada. He said he loved the skiing and OctoberFest in Europe. Travel and experiencing different cultures is a key to his success. The job must be OK too.

Maybe for you the job is less important but where it's located is. So get a job cleaning hotel rooms - in Switzerland - so you can ski for free on all your free time - take a pay cut to live and work in a small town with no traffic and affordable housing - or get a transfer abroad to experience another culture at your boss's expense - even if the job is not your life's passion. Sometimes enjoying the view can help us to appreciate what makes our job just fine and dandy!

Success is kid's play

2008-04-18T12:43:00Z

Why do we make it so complicated? My two year old is learning how to speak and he makes it so easy. He repeats new words, he tries out new combinations of words, he asks questions and he expresses his feelings in the moment and then moves on. When I have learned a language - French, Japanese, Spanish - or when I have taught English in my first career, most adults have real problems. They worry about what other people will think, they don't like to repeat as it's boring and sounds silly, they want to talk in complete sentences which make sense from the get-go and they get very attached to previous experiences of tests, school, teachers and so on.

If we want to be a success we might learn from a two-year old. Don't worry, don't care, don't look back. Do try, do practice and do look foolish. It's a great lesson.

Do you have to be unhappy to be successful or even happy

2008-04-15T03:32:00Z

I heard an interesting review of a new book about melancholy or unhappiness being a part of being successful - especially for artists. The author talked through various famous people who had tough times or were miserable as part of his argument.
It's an interesting idea. I don't think it means that you can't be successful and happy - i.e. there is a price to be paid for be rich, in love, living in a nice home. But I do think sometimes struggles and hardships can be great learnings. I know that if I had not been fired or downsized a couple of times I would not have been able to take on the great new things that opened up. Read him for yourself!

Against Happiness: In Praise Of Melancholy Eric G. Wilson

It keeps happening

2008-03-26T04:13:00Z

Someone I know was telling me about bad service in a store. He told me it kept happening to him. I was thinking about my experience in stores. I couldn't remember the last time I had bad service. So I guess for me it keeps happening to me too - except it's good not bad treatment.
We can attract good or bad. Success is about focusing on the good and attracting the great.

When You Hate Your Dream Job

2008-03-22T04:47:00Z

I love the NPR program This American Life. There was a great story about how a man who had his dream job making maps but actually hated the expeditions where he gathered the information.

I wonder how many people have their dream jobs but actually hate how they have to do it. I wanted to be a sitcom writer. I love writing comedy but I don't love working until 2:00 in the morning to get the show right. So it's important that you not only think about what you do in the job but how and where you do it. Do you like working in the country or the city? Do you like working alone or in a team? Do you like putting on a suit or grabbing your jeans? So make a list of all the qualities you need from a job and check them off. Don't say yes because it's a great job and pays well when it doesn't match your personal needs. It could be a nightmare not a dream.

This American Life
Here is a summary of the program.
This American Life contributor Sarah Vowell tells the story of a mapmaker named Charles Preuss who charted the Western Territories with two of American history's legendary explorers—John Charles Fremont and Kit Carson. The maps Preuss made were best sellers and helped open the Western frontier to settlement. But, as he wrote in the diary he kept while in the wilderness, he hated pretty much every minute of the expedition. Actor Dermot Mulroney reads excerpts from Preuss's diary. Sarah Vowell is the author, most recently, of Assassination Vacation.

Know Who You Are

2008-03-21T04:14:00Z

I have sometimes wrestled with the idea of what I should do. I realize now the question was who I am. Once I know who I am then what I do becomes easy. I spent many years not knowing who I was or thinking I should be someone different or trying to be something to please other people.
Now I have listened to my heart and started to see who I am. It's both exciting and scary. Really seeing the authentic me is fantastic. It also like a snow storm that is both beautiful and dangerous - pure and magnificent if you are inside warm and comfortable but hard and difficult if you are trying to drive home or you are lost and walking.
So know who you are and then explore that beauty enjoying the spectacle and being aware of the journey.

Now or Tomorrow?

2008-03-19T04:31:00Z

I had two interesting conversations today.

One with a talented friend who was tired of not being respected in her job, not learning and not growing. Her now was not so good and her future was debatable but far from certain. It seemed like a good time to move on.

Another conversation was with a client who had recently joined a company, was working very hard and his now was stressful and tough He future was looking great. The company is planning an exciting expansion and he is part of it. So should he stay?

I think it made sense for him to stay. Because even though he was working hard he was loving it. His now was OK and he could see it would get better.

But if your NOW is rotten do you really want to hang around for the future. I think the answer is NO. Unless you really know your present is temporary waiting for the future can be a losing game.

The future never comes and you are always stuck with the present.

Anthony Minghella - outsider to insider - tribute

2008-03-19T03:52:00Z

Anthony Minghella directed on of my favorite movies - The Talented Mr Ripley so I was sad to hear he passed away today.

But I was also interested in the obituary which talked about how he went from theater director to screenwriter and producer and as an outsider created stories about outsiders.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88476659

Mr Ripley who has to pretend to be someone else and can't risk letting anyone know who he really is. The English Patient who nobody really understands and knows. And in his latest work: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective's Agency he brings to life the wonderful comic stories of a woman fighting all kinds of prejudice to make a career fighting crime in Africa and fighting to be recognized.

All these stories are stories of misfits and mavericks some successful and some unsuccessful. But all fighting the same battles that we do every day.

And at his death with 24 Oscar nominations for 18 screenplays he had the success that made him an outsider no more and an insider.

I hope that we can look forward to the same understanding of who we are and success in our lives.

Richard Branson and Freddie Laker - mentors

2008-03-13T22:59:00Z

Richard Branson had Freddie Laker as a mentor when he first started his airline. Laker was a pioneer in cheap airlines. He enabled me to go to Spain on a cheap package trip, buy a plastic bull, drink fresh lemonade for the first time and throw up in a plant pot at Barcelona airport. Mentors have been there and done it before so why wouldn't you want their expertise?