Brand “YOU”

Posted by random olio

A recent article from Fast Company inspired me to think through my brand: Brand Tami. Not just for 2013, but beyond. The following excerpt from the article is what specifically stood out to me and will give you a bit of context to what I am referring to:

“Be yourself and be courageous. You don’t have to follow the crowd. Take courageous steps to define the brand of you in 2013, reminding yourself of who you are, what makes you tick, and why you get out of bed every day. Don’t feel compelled to follow the crowd. Be courageous and proud of being yourself.”

Have you ever thought about that? Brand You? Reid Huffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, has a great book out called: “The Start-Up of You.” He discusses at length how to plan out your future as though YOU, your life, job, and future were a start-up company. It is definitely a book I would recommend reading if you are thinking about your future and next steps.

Over the holidays I was thinking about Brand Tami and decided the first place to start was to update my: “About” page for random olio. That was my first step. If you have read it before, you will see a bit of my past version, with more specifics this time. Since I have this blog, I can cultivate my Brand on my About page, but also through my writing, photos, and content. I also continue to share my Brand in how I interact and treat others, and what I stand for, and what I will not stand for. I want to continue to think about how I am going to cultivate Brand Tami as the months fly by in 2013 and beyond.

You might find that you create a bit of Brand YOU by what you post on Facebook, or what you share on Twitter. What does your Brand YOU look like? Does it have a smell? Texture? Does it glow? Is there a word that defines you that you can speak to that sheds light to others of what you are about? An image? The fun part about Brand YOU is that it is a constantly evolving Brand and you get to update it, edit it, and brush it off any time you wish.

…learning to write my story…

Posted by random olio

How did you learn to write? Did you start with a diary that had a little padlock, where you would write all your innermost thoughts and experiences? Did you learn in school or when you started your first job? I remember writing a lot as a kid. I did not have the padlocked diary, but I wrote many short stories. I still have some of them. I do not remember what compelled me to start to write. There are also gaps, where I do not have any writing, no journal entries, and no short stories. Looking back to middle and high school there was too much happening in my life, that writing took a back burner. Later, in college, I began writing more, memoir excerpts, journal writing and taking notes of quotes I appreciated or that resonated with me from authors I read.

Recently I posted about “My Ideal Bookshelf.” I have continued to enjoy exploring the pages of this book. To learn what books have changed or shaped the lives of different authors, writers, chefs, etc. Two ideas stood out to me from different individuals. The first is from Michael Chabon:

“But that was how I learned to write, and it’s the approach I recommend to people who want to write. It’s through imitation that painters learn to paint and composers learn to compose. It is an incredibly useful way to figure out how to write like yourself in the long run. And it’s much easier and more pleasurable to imitate a writer whose work you love.”

And this one from writer, Andrew Sean Greer:

“We don’t write in a void. Our storytelling comes from reading, learning, and trying out techniques we love. As Pound says, we ought to have either the decency to acknowledge a theft outright or the cleverness to hide it. Since I can’t hide anything, I guess it’s clear where I stand on that point.”

Both quotes make me think more and more about why I read so much. As I spend hours and hours of my year reading, I learn more about what I like in authors and what I do not like. I learn the different ways an author sets their scene. I learn who inspires and challenges me as an author. Hopefully I will continue to find my own voice and write my story. Whether that be a memoir, a short story, or a novel, I believe there is a story, or many stories in each of us, just waiting to be told. Some of us tell these stories in the form of a book, others through acting, some through marketing or social media. Whatever the avenue we each have a story to tell, we just have to listen for when it is ready to be shared.

just a few of my journals…

Thank you for being part of my journey to tell my story.

Books find you.

Posted by random olio

I am in the middle of finishing my 125th book of 2012. This year I wanted to crush my amount from last year (also 125 books) but moving homes took quite a bit of my extra time these past few months, so I will have to be okay with meeting last year’s amount. 125 is not too shabby. Right?

One of the last books I read in 2012 is called “My Ideal Bookshelf.” It is not a novel or a memoir, but a book that shares the top books of many 100 well-known individuals: authors, chefs, fashion designers, etc. It shares a page excerpt from each person, and then their list of books. The website for this book states the individuals: “…reveal the books that matter to them most—books that reflect their obsessions and ambitions and in many cases helped them find their way in the world.” Since I am such a book addict I wanted to read this book before the end of the year so that I could hopefully feel inspired and add many new (or old) options to my list for 2013. Even though many of the excerpts talk you through different books that matter to them, they also share ideas that can uplift and resonate about their own life experiences. I was inspired by this quote from Rosanne Cash:

“I think books find their way to you when you need them. Whenever I feel like I’m not going to live to read all the books I want to read, I remind myself that the important ones find their way to me.”

What a cool idea. Often we think the right people come into our life when we need them most, but many times we do not have these people there when we need them. I like the idea of knowing that the important books find their way to us when we need them, especially if the people in our lives are not there for us when we might need them. I know there have been times when I have checked a book out from the library and brought it home, and because of all the other books I had checked out I had to return it before I had a chance to read it. Yet, many weeks and sometimes months later when I had the book back in my hands and I open and read it, the words were just what I needed to hear, think about, and ponder. In those times I have often thought about how that particular book found its way to me just when I needed it most.

I hope that the books you need find you in 2013.

What if you were lost and no one found you?

Posted by random olio

A colleague at work alerted me to Benjamin Kyle. Have you heard of him? I had not. Benjamin Kyle is not this man’s real name. His real name in unknown. He was found in 2004 behind a Burger King, with amnesia. He had no identification on him, and since he does not know who he is, and the government has not been able to determine who he is. He does not have a social security number and until someone hired him, he was not able to work. You will want to watch this short documentary video of what has happened to him between 2004 and today. No one has claimed him, or has sent out a missing person alert for him. Authorities have named him Benjamin Kyle. That is who he has been for the last 8 years.

Learning about him made me ask the question: “What if you were lost and no one found you?” Quite the deep and slightly depressing question. Yet, it makes you think about belonging, connections, friends, and family. What would it be like if we did not have our friends and family to check on us? To know if we were missing, or if something happened to us? I am sure there are plenty of people out there that have lost their friends and family and do not have others to check in on them. Do you know anyone like that? If so, have you checked in on them recently?

That is part of what makes Benjamin so interesting. It is an anomaly for someone to be lost, then found, and not be claimed. It is against what we feel should happen to others. It makes me grateful for the family and friends in my life. To know that I would be missed.

Portrait of Benjamin Kyle

I want to leave you today with an awe-inspiring portrait of Benjamin Kyle. It was done with over 2 million ink dots. You can find a few more images of this portrait and further background details at this link on Colossal. The artist is selling 200 limited edition prints of Benjamin Kyle. “50% of all proceeds made through this limited edition will be dedicated to helping Benjaman Kyle retrieve a new SSN and to get his life back on track.”

An amazing story of a man finding his identity. Please share his story.

A little early Christmas Spirit

Posted by random olio

Some days I feel older than others. Today is one of those days. I feel old, yet inspired. A woman that I have a lot of respect for, and was a friend and writing teacher of mine in college, had a boy. Then she had a girl. I have never met the girl, but I grew fond of her little boy after taking care of him at the day care I worked in at college. My good friend, Whit, and I would often babysit for him many nights. We would make him dinner, play, put him into his jammies, read stories, and tuck him into bed, then on to our homework.

What I remember fondly about those times in college was that these kids we took care of in day care or that we babysat for were in many ways a family to us. We grew to love them and their parents. Their parents were role models in many ways, as we watched them be parents, professors, and husbands or wives. Alden was his name. I have never met his sister, but I can tell that she has the same precious upbringing that I watched her brother have in his early years. Whit and I have many stories about Alden. He was precious. I remember he could not yet say motorcycle, and instead would say bikel bikel. He would also say: “I am living in a van, down by the r i v e r.” Ah, what smiles and laughter we had with Alden and his parents.

Fast forward to 2012. Alden is now 14. I told you I felt old. I apologize Alden if I have shared too much about what I remember about your first few years. I could not help myself. I am telling you about Alden because he has grown into such a talented young man (yes, Alden, I know I hated when folks called me that when I was younger, but remember I am old now). Alden has produced, mixed, mastered and recorded an album of his sister, Lydia’s vocals. He has also added: Guitar, Bass, Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Ukulele, and Percussion to the album.

You can listen to their new Christmas album here. Alden and Lydia, I am a fan.