Information you can use

Be a Myth Buster

Today I post about something that fills my soul. Something that has brought me many years of happiness and togetherness. That “something” is Girl Scouts.

Like others, I received this message from Liz Workman, Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland last May. I belong to Girl Scouts Alumni and Friends.

Because her message supports a quality of life I want to succeed for generations to come, I am posting here. Learn how to be a myth buster for the millions of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the globe. Be a scouting myth buster for those girls yet to be born who need a safe environment to grow and mature into strong women.

Ojo Caliente Fence
Girl Scouts reinforced my love for the outdoors while teaching me leadership skills.

Girl Scouts together; happy are we.

I plan to share more of my Girl Scout experiences here at iMentor4Successs. Today, however, I am reprinting Liz Workman’s message in its entirety. Please support girls and the Girl Scout and Girl Guide organizations in your area.

Read on to see how you can become a Girl Scout Myth Buster.

Thank you.

Jan

Now, from Liz:

May 2018

Dear Girl Scout members and friends,

Spring is early bird registration season for Girl Scouts, when we ask both new and returning girls and volunteers to sign up for another year of adventure with the best girl leadership program in the world!

We are excited to be out and about in our communities welcoming new girls who want and need all that Girl Scouts offers: fresh, relevant, and modern programming delivered in an all-girl, girl-led environment. I’m so grateful for all you do to make that possible!

As you may have heard, last fall Boy Scouts decided to allow girls to join and is now actively recruiting girls to its co-ed scouting program. Earlier this month, Boy Scouts announced that it is dropping “boy” from its name in a bid to attract more girls to its program.

There is no contest! Girl Scouts is the BEST leadership organization for girls.  As Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA states so well, “We are, and will remain, the first choice for girls and parents who want to provide their girls with opportunities to build new skills; explore STEM and the outdoors; participate in community projects; and grow into happy, successful, and civically engaged adults.”
For more than 100 years, Girl Scouts has stood with girls as they lead with grit and compassion, overcome challenges, and stand up for themselves and others. We are the premier leadership organization for girls and the largest girl-serving organization in the nation because we believe in the potential of all girls to empower themselves and lift up others. Girl Scouts is unmatched in delivering proven outcomes that set girls up to close the gender gap and position our nation to compete in the global economy.
We stand firmly in our conviction that girls need girl-only opportunities designed by and for them, and I’m writing today to ask for your active support as we counter confusion and misinformation created by Boy Scouts.

Misinformation and Confusion

Boy Scouts has begun recruiting girls across the country, including right here in our council. These efforts have caused confusion among parents and schools. We are hearing things like:

  • “Are Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts the same organization?”
  • “Are all scouting programs the same?”
  • “Are Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts merging?”

More than half of non-scouting families think that the two organizations are the same, which means it will be very easy to confuse schools and families into thinking that “co-ed scouting” is the same experience for girls as Girl Scouts.
Let me set the record straight:

  • Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are – and always have been – two separate organizations.
  • Girl Scouts programs are designed with and for girls
  • Girl Scouts will not merge with Boy Scouts.

Here’s how you can help clear up the confusion and correct the misinformation

You can take action to make the case for Girl Scouts and help us amplify the over 100 years of amazing work by the Girl Scouts to build women of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.  This is what we owe our girls. Families need to have all of the facts when they decide what organization provides the best opportunities for their daughters to develop the skills, confidence and values to succeed in life.

Be prepared to be a myth buster:

We are hearing myths and stereotypes of Girls Scouts (things like Girl Scouts don’t go on adventures, which is absolutely not true!). Please take a look at the Girl Scout Myth Busters handout so you can be an advocate and educator. If you hear something that sounds off to you or hear a myth that is missing, please let us know. Send it to communications@gskh.org.

Share your love for Girl Scouts on social media:

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn so you can share and let your networks know why you’re proud to be a part of an organization that puts girls at the center.

Join us as a G.I.R.L. Champion: 

If you are a volunteer or supporter and want to share your Girl Scout stories with prospective parents, volunteers, and girls during recruitment and troop formation events, email communications@gskh.org to learn more about how to become a G.I.R.L. Champion. Help us bust myths and make sure that what is best for girls remains at the center of this conversation.

Join the just-launched Girl Scout Network on LinkedIn:

Follow this link to the Girl Scout Network and follow the network to stay on top of what’s going on in the community of Girl Scout alums.
We need your help to ensure that the community and prospective members know that only the Girl Scout program is based on decades of research and more than 100 years of experience in putting girls at the center.
Girls deserve the best possible opportunities, and Girl Scouts provides them. There is simply no substitute for Girl Scouts.
I hope you’ll take action to make the case for Girl Scouts so that families have all the facts they need to make the best choice for their daughters.
Thank you for being a part of the Girl Scout Movement –

For Girls. By Girls. All Girls!

Yours in Girl Scouting,

Liz Workman
Chief Executive Officer
Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland

Resources

You can subscribe to the Raising Awesome Girls blog, written by the Chief Girl and Parent Expert at Girl Scouts of the USA, or explore the following resources developed by the Girl Scout Research Institute (that’s right, a research institute all about what’s best for girls!):
Photo of Land Between the Lakes path in forest
Camping, hiking and cooking on a campfire with Girl Scouts helped to prepare me for my work with the Forest Service at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.

Become a Myth Buster…for all our sakes. Download the myth buster sheet. Thanks.

Myth-buster Sheet at http://www.kansasgirlscouts.org/content/dam/kansasgirlscouts/documents/Girl%20Scouts%20of%20Kansas%20Heartland%20Mythbusters.pdf

Join Girl Scouts on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/girlscoutnetwork/

Raising Awesome Girls at https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls.html 

Resources you can use

These resources have taken me years to find. Check them out. There may be some link you need to move you forward.

For this blog, I wanted to share with you resources I refer to my clients. I’ve compiled these over the past decade. These resources allow me to spend less time on reinventing the wheel and more time on being creative and strategic for our clients.

Resources

A weather vane stands out against a blue sky like these resources can help you stand out in a digital world
Reverend Mary O’Malley Photo

My friend, Marya O’Malley, uses some of these resources. You can find her photos on Pexels at https://www.pexels.com/@marya-omalley-417651. The sunflower photo is also from Marya. Thank you, Marya, for sharing. You learn more about Marya on her website at  https://www.maryaomalley.com/. 

Take care and enjoy, Jan

P.S. If you have resources you use and want to share, send to us at iMentor4Success@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for the share. We will credit you if you like. Again, thanks. Jan

sunset city view from balcony using PRISMA app
A photo I took from my balcony in May 2018 using the PRISMA app and my iPhone. I use this resource all the time to create works of art from photos I have taken through the years.

Blog on Hold — for now

Ok, no excuses for our blog; and here’s mine…

I am working on website builds, online courses, and helping write a book. I’ve also been traveling to fun places plus attending webinars and in-person conferences to improve my skills. Meanwhile,  my writing on the iMentor4Success blog has slowed while I catch up with these current client projects.

Ginny received a promotion to Marketing Director at a venue. They host close to 200 shows a year. She’s swamped at work.

I am sharing on our Twitter account @iMentor4Success items of interest I have found while working client issues and improving my skill levels. Some posts have originated with Ginny. Please follow us there. We’ve found some interesting topics and tips for success that we think you can use.

Take care of yourself. May peace and harmony surround you wherever you go.

Jan

Jan holding a baby alligator
Alligator Farm near Gulf Shores, Alabama, is just one excuse I have for the lack of my blog posts  Great fun was had by all!

Pecha-Kucha (chit-chat)

What is Pecha-Kucha?

Pecha-Kucha is a slide presentation style used throughout the world. It originally started in Japan as a way for designers to showcase their talents.

Pecha-Kucha takes you from boredom to stardom by keeping your audience entertained. You use your creative ability to tell your story in 20 slides at 20 seconds each. Using this technique, you take your audience to the questions and answers (Q&A) part of your presentation within 6-minutes and 40-seconds.

That’s a good thing.

Daniel Pink introduced me to this technique in his Wired Magazine article Pecha Kucha: Get to the PowerPoint in 20 Slides Then Sit the Hell Down.

Because I’ve witnessed too many, too long, and too boring slideshow presentations, I embrace Pecha-Kucha. I remember one presenter who had 20 minutes and brought 55 slides. He took twice as long and pushed the entire afternoon line up back by an hour. Plus when I looked around the room, I saw eyes closed and heads resting. Not cool.

Imagine conference speakers using this 6-minutes and 40-seconds presentation technique. Audiences would be alive — even at “siesta time” following lunch. Audiences expect to be entertained. Slideshows with more graphics and fewer words can do this. Plus this can add more time for you to interact with your audience. Again, increasing audience satisfaction.  That’s what every speaker wants.

My first Pecha-Kucha

Here’s mine completed in January 2012 as part of my master studies at Quinnipiac University.

You will find some terrific examples on YouTube including instructional videos.

I found this simple, straightforward style for presenting my story refreshing. If you watch my video, you will see that it follows one of my most precious principles in communicating and design — the KISS principle…

Keep it Simple Stupid.

It also follows William Zinsser’s teachings in On Writing Well. Here, Zinsser instructs us to communicate with simplicity, clarity, brevity, and humanity. You can do that with Pecha-Kucha.

Stand out from the crowd.

I encourage you to use this technique in your presentations.

To learn more, check out the organization at http://www.pechakucha.org/.

Wired Pecha Kucha: Get to the PowerPoint in 20 slides then sit the hell down by Daniel H. Pink on August 21, 2007 | Retrieved from  https://www.wired.com/2007/08/st-pechakucha/

Career expansion

Some background on my decision…

In 2015 my good friend Marya O’Malley wrote her first self-help book. Marya told me about her book when we met up that following May on a friends’ retreat to Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs in New Mexico. (Wonderful place. Check it out at http://ojospa.com/) Little did we know our Ojo Caliente retreat would start me on my new career.

She had editors help her fine-tune her message, yet she felt something was missing. I offered to help. I believed I wanted to help authors as an editor and publicist when I retired. Marya accepted my help and published her book in October of 2016.  You Are Simply Divine: Simple Spiritual Practices for Divine Connectivity is the result. You can find it on Amazon at http://amzn.to/2HvsLQ8.

You are Simply Divine Book Cover

After that, I was hooked on my new career as a book editor.

I retired and started the career I’ve dreamed about since 2012 – writing and editing. My background steers me towards non-fiction for editing books. My former career had me translating concepts into everyday language for audiences to understand. Some concepts were highly technical while others were how-to articles or promotional pieces. All required me to excel in writing.

My bachelor’s degree helped me to understand graphic design and color theory. I have used these skills throughout my career.

I learned to adapt form and layout from print to digital during my Interactive Communications masters’ degree program at Quinnipiac University.

How people read on different media is different. How people read today versus 2004 is different.

I’m a book editor that…

  • makes sure all the parts fall into the rhythm e both verbally and visually;
  • moves words, sentences, paragraphs, and even chapters to ensure the message flows logically for the reader;
  • adds descriptive anchors and connecting phrases needed for the reader to better follow along in the story line and message;
  • removes unnecessary words and passages for clarity;
  • formats the layout and adds the artwork making the book easy to …
    • read in print and digital,
    • listen to the audio version, and
    • skim when the time is of the essence for the reader.

As an editor, my goal is for readers to feel good that they invested their time and money into my clients’ publications.

As a publicist…

My goal is to guide people into and through the digital age of promotions. Some of this includes contributing to third-party media sites that can help promote his/her book, blog, research, consulting business, etc.

I work with individuals to develop a plan that fits them. We take into account skills, talents, resources, and workload.

It’s a partnership. I …

  • advise on topics,
  • edit copy,
  • develop digital presence
  • format book and publications,
  • research opportunities, and
  • develop a marketing strategy

all the while supplying support and encouragement to carry on.

Meanwhile, my clients do the heavy lifting of managing their business, writing original copy,  being interviewed, and connecting with their fan base.

I look forward to building our community 

Currently, I’m personally writing and editing through this blog and consulting others. I’m also advancing my skills through training courses. I have a couple mentors also helping me.

Sharing is Caring

As I travel on this new career path, I will share what I learn. There is much to learn so I should have much to share.

I want to leave you with a quote from PEW Research.

“… the best education programs will teach people how to be lifelong learners.”

Here’s to lifelong learning!

Jan

Source

PEW Research The Future of Jobs and Jobs Training by Lee Rainie and Janna Anderson on May 3, 2017 | Retrieved from  http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/05/03/the-future-of-jobs-and-jobs-training/?utm_content=buffera9954&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer