Great Advice

We are all bombarded by unsolicited advice.  Some of it may be good to excellent, but if we're not receptive, it might as well be worthless, because we won't act upon it.  And some of the unsolicited advice is terrible to dangerous.  So, wise caution is prudent in evaluating and acting upon unsolicited advice.  The more we trust the source and her or his expertise, the more likely we are to accept it.  That is, unless we feel competitive with the adviser, be it parent, friend or colleague.

However, when we solicit the advice of a trusted source and are eager to embrace it, we often not only receive a tremendous gift, but give one as well.

Today was a banner day for solicited advice from me.  And in each of the five instances, the appreciation of the recipient was so gratifying.

Great advice is that which is knowledgeably given and enthusiastically acted upon.   Great advice appropriately shared and acknowledged makes the giver and receiver both realize that a gifted exchange has occurred.

Anyone Can Be an Expert

Malcolm Gladwell asserts that anyone can be an expert IF they invest 10,000 hours in the pursuit.  An ambitious path to expert status would come in 5 years IF the wannabe expert committed to investing 40 hours per week for 50 weeks per year for 5 straight years.  In our quest for instant gratification and flexibility, it's easy to see why authentic expertise is to be highly valued.  And it is sobering to realize what it really takes to claim expert status.

I am a Blogger!

When does one admit that they are an accomplished athlete, public speaker, musician, consultant, subject matter expert...?  We often need acknowledgement from others to realize that we are actually what we are aspiring to be.  Among my other roles, I am a blogger.  Though my # of posts confirms this, my lunchtime experience provided unsolicited, unexpected confirmation that I have a wonderfully diverse array of readers. A friend from 3 jobs ago, stopped by our table to say hello and say how much she enjoys my blog. Though I have no clue who my readers are, I am so very grateful that lovely individuals from 123 cities in 12 countries have chosen to view my articles.