The Day After

There is a lot of banter in the news today that the US (and ultimately the global) economy will plummet because of the re-election of President Barack Obama. Now, I generally avoid political comments on my blog, but what I’m about to say is not political.

It is very possible, however, that you won’t like it.

Believe me, I wouldn’t be shocked if you emailed me with your disagreement. You see, the fact of the matter is this – the state of the economy has no link to your success.

No link what-so-ever!!

Of course, some will reply “Yes Nancy you’re absolutely right, so what are you saying that is so controversial?”

But I would even challenge those people to have a good long look at their attitudes and actions too.

Some people make money during economic difficulty, and others make most of their cash during economic upswings.

But whether or not you are creating financial wealth is not down to the economy! It is totally and completely reliant upon the thoughts in your head and the actions you take.

You can blame or thank whoever you like, but the real culprit or savior is YOU!

What ways do you enrich your own prospects? And how do you sabotage your best efforts? What attitudes or actions do you have that make the most of any situations?

Regardless of the economy, you make or break your own financial back.

(Go on, email me. I dare ya!)

Feeling Flow

In the realm of positive psychology, there have been many discussions about “flow” … considered to be a state of intense motivation resulting in a feeling of positive engagement and enjoyment. Others also use terms such as being in the moment, being present, in the zone and so on.

If you were to refer to the Wikipedia link above, you would find a long article on the nuances of ‘flow’ as proposed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the Hungarian psychologist who wrote the book of the same name. But both the book and the Wikipedia reference look complicated. How can something that long be talking about “flow”?!?!

To me, in a nutshell, what happened this morning is a prime example of how to achieve ‘flow’.

Part way through my workout (actually, in the first 10 minutes and while battling ‘up’ the stair climber), I started a conversation in my head:

“Man, this is hard.”

“Yes, and it is supposed to be tough.”

“Ya, but this is hard and I’m just too tired. I know – I’ll just cut some corners here.”

“No, hang on there.”

“No, no. It’s okay. I can do better tomorrow.”

“Well…….”

“Ya, I’ll just do a …. couple …. more ….  There we go …..”

“No, wait. Just do a couple more couple mores. You know if you stop now, it will bug you.”

“Er, okay.”

“Come on now, a couple more couple mores. You see, there you go.”

“Wow, I’m almost there! I CAN do this!”

“Yes, you can. Now. PUSH IT.”

“Yes, dammit, I AM gonna push it!”

I then went on to not only complete my workout but to actually exceed the original workout performance goal I had set for myself. Everything from that moment forward just clicked. I was full of energy and confidence. I did not injure myself and feel 200% excellent 🙂

To me, the fastest way to ‘flow’ is to consciously work to silence the negative noise in your head. Flow is about being aligned with your deepest truth. It is about working past initial doubts and fears and going to what is truly flowing underneath – integrity.

Applied Microlearning #14 – Personality


I saw this on Facebook recently. Would you call it content suitable for “microlearning”?

In its simplest sense, it certainly is because it fills many of the defined dimensions of microlearning:

  • Short time consumption (seconds)
  • Narrow, focused content (a light look at “personality”)
  • Fragment of something larger (self concept, etc)
  • Could easily be expanded upon (convert to full sentences, paragraph, etc)
  • Accessible technology (print / on-line)
  • Informal learning (not classroom; reader is not ‘required’ to do anything with the content)

Most importantly, it invites the reader so consider their own viewpoint on the subject:

  • Do I think, for example, that ‘rough’ and ‘tough’ are part of ‘personality’?
  • Am I any or all of these things to me?
  • Am I any or all of these things to others?
  • Is this a positive viewpoint?
  • A negative one?

Any small piece of information that challenges or invites us to look at our own perspective of the world falls in the general category of microlearning content (i.e. it is micro in size and can create a learning opportunity all by itself).

Of course, this particular piece of content may not be suitable in many types of corporate curriculum (though I would definitely include it for certain target audiences!) and it would have more impact as part of an ongoing course such as my Simple Sound Solutions program, but in and of itself, it is a strong example of microlearning content.

The Efficacy of Microlearning Part I … again

This post is back by popular demand –

By specializing in microlearning, I have made a very conscious choice to abandon old and outdated ways of delivering learning content to organizations and the adults within them.

In my 20+ years in being involved in educating adults, it wasn’t until I began using, studying and then implementing microlearning and microcontent (in both live and online formats) that I truly found something that makes sense, a difference and engages our brains in a natural way.

A Chief Learning Officer magazine article entitled “How Do You Motivate People To Learn“, the author pulls together part of the discussion of motivating people to engage in the learning at a higher level. He speaks of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. It also refers to leveraging people’s actions and personal goals toward organizational objectives, and vice versa.

I found the article very interesting, though not particularly startling or new. What struck me, though, is how the between-the-lines content actually pointed directly to the features and benefits of microlearning.

Providing short, concise and highly targeting information in microcontent format naturally bridges intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, for a variety of reasons and in several ways. For example, it allows learners the opportunity to layer their previous experiences, future goals and present reality right on to the incoming information in a way other learning environments do not (and cannot by their very design).

Whenever possible, converting long-form learning material into microcontent in a structured microlearning curriculum will increase learner engagement, stimulate intrinsic motivation and aid the extrinsic motivators an organization puts in place to recognize its staff. All staff.

In fact microlearning is, as my branding suggests, training that sticks for your entire organization.

Music As Microlearning?

Music has been shown over and over again to stimulate regions of the brain (eg memory, sensory, frontal cortex, etc) that other stimuli just cannot reach. One of the reasons we are so attracted to tune, melody and lyric is because our depth of engagement is so deep and strong. Music sparks and re-sparks very personal emotions and is thought to be one of the last things to fade from the memory of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

It is also a great example of microlearning.

Short songs (or even snippets) pack a big punch and, because of their links with memory, many of the thoughts, feelings and associations created on first exposure return every time we hear it again. We are once again in touch with the same thoughts, feelings and associations, deepening the groove of learning and (potentially) self-awareness.

I’m not suggesting an instructional designer should wrap notes around the how-to’s of, say, installing a dishwasher, but the awareness of how microlearning impacts us on a daily basis is a great reminder of just how prevalent it is and the diverse ways it is being used.

In the meantime, here’s a little “memory jolt” from my collection!

Saga – On The Loose

(Lyrics available at the video site)

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