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Clapton and his guitar

slideshow_1491818_EricClapton.0309A I happened to see that Eric Clapton, one of my husband’s real life guitar heroes was in town this week. We grabbed some last minute tix near the stage at the Gwinnett arena and had the most incredible night. Along with thousands of other blue jeaned baby boomers, we were transported by his brilliant riffs.

Clapton took us through a journey of his music through the decades. He was very different from the opening act, Roger Daltry (clearly the extrovert ). He never introduced the songs (we all knew them anyway) and only spoke softly to name the band members after their solos.

He didn’t put on foolish grins or try to win us over. He simply was himself, a gifted musican, clearly in his own world.  He let his talent speak, or rather play, for itself.

Clapton grew up an introvert. He spent many hours alone with his guitar dealing with a rough childhood,  honing his gift.  Later on he battled alcohol and drugs. None of that mattered last night. The man and his guitar shined with a quiet grace. I am so grateful I was there to witness it.

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Reactions to the introvert as great blue heron

At a recent book signing, Sheri, an introverted training manager, told me she holds onto an image from nature to comfort her when she feels overpowered by extroverted team members.

As a proud introvert, Sheri relates to the great blue heron. This bird will stalk prey slowly and deliberately. They are solitary or small-group foragers. While the geese are loudly squawking, or doing what geese do, she… Continue reading the rest of this article...

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Reality T.V.- Korea comes calling

I love the universality of the introverted leadership theme. Language is no barrier when we strive to deepen our understanding of temperaments. Continue reading the rest of this article...

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The perfect bus for introverts? Or not?

I am not sure how I feel about this. Easy for me to say as an adult, but isn’t the school bus a kind of learning lab for social interaction? We learn how to make conversations and talk to people different than ourselves. We even get some experience in fending off the mean girls and rough boys. And what about getting the real scoop about teachers and school policies, etc.??? All of these are skills that serve us well as we swing through the workplace. Continue reading the rest of this article...

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“Cool Coming Off As Cold” – Coaching Obama

I have been discussing the idea of the Perception Gap for a while now. Introverts often are misunderstood and considered aloof or disengaged when they don’t exude warmth. Newsweek’s writer, Jacob Weisberg, had an interesting take on President Obama’s temperament in the piece, Cool Coming Off As Cold and how this perception is becoming an issue for our President. Continue reading the rest of this article...

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Can you be a social introvert?

“I’m a social introvert. It’s hard for me to be this way because I like people, I like interacting and sometimes I wonder why I don’t get my energy around them or can’t be like social extroverts who can go, go, go when they are around people. It took me a long time to realize I need my down time, and being fine alone and being happy alone isn’t a bad thing. Continue reading the rest of this article...

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Being present with a lively pastor

Oh, you think just because I am a pastor, I just drink gingerale.” I want to be “politically correct,” was my retort. I think we included humor and quite bit of content in the 14 minute conversation. Continue reading the rest of this article...

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Acceptance

Peter is an older man who puts one foot in front of the other as he sweeps the street each morning near the local school. I have seen him each December on my daily walks on this small island tucked away in the blue seas of the Caribbean. As drivers go to work, they give him a slight horn “toot” in their morning meet and greet. Peter looks up and responds with a gentle nod of the head. He then goes back to his task – walking the same steps ever Continue reading the rest of this article...

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Plugging Into A Warm Network

“My brother lost his job,” said my friend, Sam. Will you give him some tips? I asked how much of a network his brother  had and Sam turned to me with a shoulder shrug. “What do you think?” We both had discussed his brother’s tendancy to stay in the background in work and in life so I knew the answer. Not much.

Plugging into a cold network of professional and personal… Continue reading the rest of this article...

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Booking It

I am taking a short break from blogging/tweeting/facebooking/texting and email. Actually am welcoming the chance to reading non work books – a bio of FDR, a memoir by speaker and coach, Shirley Garrett – A Tap Water Girl in a Bottled Water World and Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants. Continue reading the rest of this article...

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